Feast for thought: A comprehensive review of food allergy 2021-2023

This review covers the latest publications in food allergy over the last couple of years.Food allergy is a major public health concern, affecting about 8% of children and 10% of adults in developed countries.The food allergy prevalence varies around the world, with environmental factors mainly driving the increase, possibly together with genetical susceptibility to environmental changes.A precise diagnosis of food allergy is extremely important -both new tests (e.g.basophil activation test) and improved optimization of information provided by existing tests (e.g.skin prick test and specific IgE) can contribute to improving the accuracy and patients' comfort of food allergy diagnosis.Understanding the underlying immune mechanisms is fundamental to designing allergen-specific treatments that can be safe and effective in the long-term.New discoveries have emerged at various levels of the immune response to food allergens, including T cell and B cell responses.Novel therapeutic approaches are being trialed at various stages of development and will hopefully allow for more active intervention to treat food allergy.Prevention is key to reduce the increase in prevalence.Early introduction of allergenic foods seems to be the most effective intervention, but others are being studied, and will hopefully lead to modification of the epidemiological trajectory of food allergy over time.