Prevalence of food allergy and perceptions on food allergen labeling in school foodservice among Korean students

Ah-Hyun Lee; Kyu-Earn Kim; Kyung-Eun Lee; Seong-Hui Kim; Tae-Whan Wang; Kyung Won Kim; Tong-Kyung Kwak

doi:10.4168/aard.2013.1.3.227

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Lee, Kim, Lee, Kim, Wang, Kim, and Kwak: Prevalence of food allergy and perceptions on food allergen labeling in school foodservice among Korean students

Original Article

Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease 2013; 1(3): 227-234.

Published online: 30 September 2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4168/aard.2013.1.3.227

Prevalence of food allergy and perceptions on food allergen labeling in school foodservice among Korean students

Ah-Hyun Lee¹, Kyu-Earn Kim², Kyung-Eun Lee³, Seong-Hui Kim⁴, Tae-Whan Wang¹, Kyung Won Kim², Tong-Kyung Kwak¹

¹Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea.

²Department of Pediatrics and Institute of Allergy, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.

³Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Natural Sciences, Seoul Women's University, Seoul, Korea.

⁴Seoul Eunjung Elementary School, Seoul, Korea.

Correspondence to: Tong-Kyung Kwak. Department of Food and Nutrition, College of Human Ecology, Yonsei University, 50 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 120-749, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2123-3120, Fax: +82-2-365-3118, kwaktk@yonsei.ac.kr

Received 31 May 2013 Revised 5 August 2013 Accepted 14 August 2013

(open-access):

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/).

Abstract

Purpose

Prevalence of food allergy and perceptions on food allergen labeling in school foodservice among elementary, middle, and high school students were investigated in Korea.

Methods

A total of 1,000 elementary, middle, and high schools were selected in 16 cities and provinces of Korea and students attending the schools were surveyed using a questionnaire modified from the Korean International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood questionnaire in July 2012. Responses from 27,679 students were used for data analysis.

Results

The ratio of the students who had experienced food allergy was 12.6%; 7.6% of the responding students had food allergy reactions last 12 months and 6.8% of the students had been diagnosed for food allergy by doctors. Eggs, milk, peach, and crabs were the most frequent allergenic foods for the elementary school 1st graders, 5th graders, middle, and high school students, respectively, who had experienced food allergy last 12 months. The students with food allergy read menus more frequently and were more interest in food allergen labeling in school foodservice than their counterparts. Both of the student groups with and without food allergy perceived food allergen labeling important for the students with food allergy and their parents.

Conclusion

The prevalence of food allergy and major allergenic foods varied by school years. The Korean students had positive perception on allergic food labeling in school foodservice. An effective food allergen labeling system for school foodservice should be developed and implemented that reflects prevalence, symptoms, and food allergens among Korean students.

Keywords: Prevalence, Food allergy, Perception, Labeling, School food service

Figures and Tables

Fig. 1

Awareness of allergic food labeling among students. A 5-point Likert style scale: 1, never; 3, about half the time; 5, always. ^*P<0.001.

Fig. 2

Interest of allergic food labeling among students. A 5-point Likert style scale: 1, not at all interested; 3, neutral; 5, very interested. ^*P<0.001.

Table 1

Distribution rates of the respondents by area

Table 2

Prevalence of food allergy among students using ISAAC written questionnaire

ISSAC, International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood.

Table 3

Prevalence of food allergy among students using ISAAC written questionnaire^*

Values are presented as no. of students (%).

Ever, 'food allergy, ever'; Diagnosis, 'diagnosis of food allergy, ever'; 'Treatment, 12 mo', 'treatment of food allergy, last 12 months'.

^*Students were allowed to select more than one symptoms.

Table 4

Food allergens reported by students with food allergy^*

Values are presented as no. of students (%).

Last 12 mo, 'food allergy, last 12 months'; Diagnosis, 'diagnosis of food allergy, ever'.

^*Students were allowed to select more than one food allergens.

Table 5

Students' perception on food allergy labeling in school food service^* (n=21,967)

Values are presented as mean±standard deviation.

^*A 7-point Likert style scale: 1, not at all; 4, neutral; 7, very much.

Notes

This work was supported by Ministry of Education in 2012.

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