What are food allergies and intolerances?

They are side effects related to food, due to its ingestion, contact or inhalation.
They are caused by substances so called allergens that are part of the food. While a specific food is perfectly healthy for the majority of the population, for the affected people, even in small quantities they can cause serious reactions.

What are the symptoms?

The most common symptoms of food allergies, are general skin and gastro-intestinal tract reactions with variable intensity, and less frequently in the respiratory tract and other systems. Serious reactions may occur, such as cardiovascular problems, high blood pressure and loss of consciousness (anaphylactic shock). The symptoms are mostly immediate, usually within an hour after the food intake.

What´s the treatment?

To avoid the contact and the ingestion of the allergic food, always with the appropriate precautions and trough medical diagnosis.
From 13st December 2014, it is mandatory to inform our customers about the presence of allergen food on the supplied products.

What are allergens?

Under the terms of the legislation, the 14 allergens considered the main responsible for food allergy are:

From the 2003/89 / CE Directive and its subsequent amendments, any ingredient or substance that may cause an allergic reaction to the customers and is present in the food, it should be clearly indicated on the label.
In compliance with the regulation quoted previously, food and distribution companies should provide to the customer, clear information regarding the presence of allergens, through the products labelling.

More information about food allergy:

Portuguese Society of Celiac Disease [http://www.celiacos.org.pt/]
Portuguese Society of Chiropractors [http://www.quiropratica.org/]

Allergens information – requirement 10.3 from ISO/TS22002-1
2003/89 / CE Directive
Regulation (EU) N.º 1169/2011, of 25th October

 Elaborated: Quality 2016-10-11