Australia has one of the highest reported incidences of food allergies in the world, and the numbers are growing at an alarming rate. In fact, one in 10 babies born in Australia today will develop a food allergy.
An allergic reaction can quickly become life threatening and people can die from food allergy. While the risk cannot be removed, it can be managed. Food allergies are different from food intolerances and involve an antibody response to a food, causing a cascade of symptoms. Any food can potentially cause an allergic reaction, there are eight foods which cause 90% of food allergies and these are milk, soy, egg, peanut, tree nuts, fish, shellfish and wheat.
It’s up to all of us to be allergy aware – to know how to minimise the risk of a reaction, to know what to do if a reaction happens, and to understand and support family, friends and colleagues living with food allergies.
Support Food Allergy Awareness
There are several ways that you can support Food Allergy Week 2014:
• Paint one nail to symbolise that one in 10 babies born in Australia today will develop a food allergy
• Adopt an allergy for one day to better understand the challenges people with allergy face every single day
• Download a badge to use through your social media channel
• Learn how to support people with a food allergy and what to do if they have a reaction
If you happen to see or learn something that grabs your attention and you want to know more Primo Search is the place to look. Across all campuses CSU libraries have hundreds of books on almost everything you could think of!
Food Allergy Awareness Week runs from 11th of May until 18th of May