Food allergies have been widely in the news of late, and recent weeks have seen a spurt of media coverage in the wake of the death of a seven-year-old Virginia girl, who died of cardiac arrest and anaphylaxis after consuming a peanut. Food allergies have no cure and are only treated through such means as antihistamines (for mild reactions) or even epinephrine injections (for severe reactions).
The number of food allergy sufferers appears to be rising. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of children with food allergies jumped 18% between 1997-2007, and researchers at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago found 8% of U.S. children under the age of 18 have at least one food allergy. For that matter, research out of Canada suggests well-educated consumers from smaller families are nearly twice as likely to face dangerous food allergies.