"Allergy Advisor," Published Corn Allergy Study

“Maize allergy can occur to the ingestion of maize or maize derivatives, or to the inhalation of maize flour or maize pollen. A true allergy to maize has been said to be uncommon,1 but recent studies have shown that diagnostic methods used in the past may not have been accurate, so that maize allergy was underdiagnosed.”


“Allergic reactions, including dermatitis, have been described with maize by-products, corn syrup, corn dextrimaltose, corn invert sugar, corn isomerised dextrose and corn D-psicose.20,21,22 This demonstrates that one or more allergens remain in maize throughout processing and are still present in maize derivatives. Intravenous administration of a maize-derived dextrose solution has resulted in anaphylaxis.”


“Because maize is eaten in various ways . . . and the specific allergen profile of various maize derivatives is not known, it may be necessary to challenge each derivative separately. Each derivative may have a different potential for triggering adverse reactions. It is therefore useful to assess a person's tolerance of each component.”

Prof Janice M. Joneja Ph. D., RDN
“It has been my experience through many years of managing food allergies and intolerances that adverse reactions to corn and corn derivatives are frequently undiagnosed, and the incidence of corn allergy is greatly underestimated. Because skin tests and tests for anti-corn antibodies in blood are generally negative, the assumption that corn allergy is uncommon has been made to the detriment of many corn-sensitive individuals - usually children. As this case study demonstrates, corn allergy is an example of a food allergy that can only be successfully and accurately identified by elimination and challenge. Corn is not unique in this respect since allergy to a number of foods is often overlooked because the standard allergy tests are negative. We have to keep in mind that because of the high incidence of false negative, and sometimes false positive results, estimates of the efficacy of skin and blood tests for food allergy never exceed 50%, and many practitioners rate them even lower. Even when a positive skin or blood test indicates the presence of anti-food IgE, elimination and challenge must be undertaken to demonstrate that the food does in fact cause clinical symptoms when it is consumed. It is more than probable that factors other than the presence of IgE (and/or IgG) antibodies, and reactive immune cells in the skin, are responsible for the expression of allergy. Until science is able to elucidate the precise mechanisms responsible for all types of clinical allergy, we must rely on carefully controlled elimination and challenge to accurately identify the foods responsible for the symptoms of allergy.”

http://www.allergyadvisor.com/Educational/March04.htm

Corn Allergy Advocacy/Resources

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