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Food Allergies and Intolerance in the United States 2007
Mintel, April 2007, Pages: 97
The world of food allergies and intolerance is largely shrouded in mystery, with reporting agencies claiming different numbers of sufferers. Many consumers are affected but don’t understand the cause. As a result, manufacturers and retailers do not know how to best approach the market.
This report provides an in-depth understanding of what is needed to most effectively participate in the “free-from” market, including:
- Recognizing where the most growth potential lies, both by type of condition and relevant food categories
- How to better educate consumers on what constitutes a food allergy versus an intolerance, including how to properly read labels in accordance with their needs
- The need to better train foodservice, retail and manufacturing employees to understand allergies, and how best to provide a healthy environment for those who suffer
Included are straightforward descriptions of the primary allergens and the differences between allergies and intolerance. Extensive data from the Global New Products Database (GNPD), along with relevant highlights from related reports, shows the broad range of opportunity that exists in the free-from market. An exclusive consumer survey reveals that respondents of all ages are receptive to these products, and highlights the needs of specific races/ethnicities that are more profoundly affected by allergies and intolerance.
According to the FDA, 6 to 7 million people in the U.S. suffer from food allergies (2% to 2.4% of the population), while the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) puts this number at 11 million (3.7% of the population). Approximately 8% of children have food allergies.
Though estimates also vary widely for food intolerance, a condition in which the body is unable to produce enough of the natural digestive chemicals to break down a particular type of food, the FDA estimates that approximately 28% of Americans suffer from some form of this condition. The effects range from mildly inconvenient to life threatening, and the two most common culprits are lactose (found in milk-based products) and gluten (found in wheat-based products).
Also included in this report is celiac disease, which is an extreme form of intolerance that makes it impossible to digest gluten, found in wheat, barley, rye, and some oats. Again, numbers vary, but the most prominent estimate (from The University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore) is that one in 133 individuals suffer from it (0.8% of the population, or 2.2 million people).
More than 170 foods have been identified as allergens, including fruits, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, mollusks, peas, lentils, and beans other than green beans. Four foods account for 90% of food allergies in adults—peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish—while six foods account for 90% of food allergies in children—milk, egg, peanuts, wheat, soy and tree nuts.
This report primarily examines the U.S. consumers’ attitudes towards food allergies and free-from products, and secondarily on the retail market for foods that are manufactured and targeted specifically at consumers who suffer from food allergies, food intolerance, and who are following avoidance diets. Foods that have been specially manufactured (e.g., pasta) to cater for a gluten-free diet, for instance, are included within this definition.
As the market for free-from foods develops, there is a growing trend to flag mainstream products as free-from. In other words, some mainstream foods flagged gluten-free, for example, do not naturally contain gluten and have not been modified. These products are not specifically covered in this report.
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