Flour Allergy

Adverse or unfavorable reactions to varying substances are an element of everyday life. These reactions are called allergies or allergic reactions. Allergies to substances, particularly to food, have been a subject of great interest for decades due to their enigmatic occurrence. As of late, one food allergy of particular interest to medical practitioners is called flour allergy.

Flour allergy is essentially caused by the immune system's rejection of an allergen (general term for what causes allergic reactions) that is found in flour products. Usually, the allergy is protein-induced, that is, proteins found in grain products.

Flour substance is not exclusively derived from wheat. However, wheat generally comprises 90% of all flour yields in the world (white flour, etc). The remaining 10% comes from other grains such as oats, barley, rice, and so on. For purposes of this discussion, it is safe to assume that general flour allergy signs and symptoms are more likely similar to that of a specific wheat allergy.

This type of allergy affects people most exposed to flour products, like bakers, cooks, pastry chefs, essentially those involved in food preparation. Isolated different cases have been discovered, however. In some countries in the world where flour is not just a cake ingredient, such as in industrial factories where they use flour as substitutes or extenders to processed products, factory workers have also been susceptible to flour allergy.

Flour as a raw substance also acts as an additive to several other food commodities whose end-products do not necessarily look like they have been made with flour, like candies, recipe-modified icings and even chocolates.