Intolerance to food additives - does it exist?

'Food intolerance' is often confused with a range of adverse symptoms which may be coincidental to ingestion of food. 'Food intolerance' is defined as a reaction in which symptoms must be objectively reproducible and not known to involve an immunological mechanism. A more precise term is non-allergic food hypersensitivity, which contrasts with food allergies which are due to an immunological mechanism. Some children will experience food reactions to food additives. Reported symptoms range from urticaria/angioedema to hyperactive behaviours. While parents/carers report that over one fifth of children experience of food reaction, only 1 in 20 of these are confirmed to have a non-allergic food hypersensitivity on testing.
(© 2010 The Authors. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health © 2010 Paediatrics and Child Health Division (Royal Australasian College of Physicians).)