"Only 4 Percent Of Americans Actually Have Food Allergies" - Alexandra Ossola
You can probably think of at least one person you know who has a food allergy, but figuring out just how many people have food allergies on a national scale is surprisingly complicated. Researchers have taken a new approach to coming up with a number based on documentation in millions of electronic medical records. "Food allergies highly impact a person's quality of life. Every meal, every snack, every social event, holidays, travel, restaurants, school, camps-everything we do, every celebration, it all has to do with food," says Scott Sicherer, a professor of pediatrics, allergy and immunology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. That need has resulted in policy changes, like putting warnings about wheat, soy, or nut content in clear language on the packaging of processed foods; it's what sparked the outrage at the jacked-up prices of EpiPens.
- Scott Sicherer, MD, Professor, Pediatrics, Allergy and Immunology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Chief, Division of Allergy and Immunology
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