Peter Kunč
Recently there is an intensive effort to investigate possible influences of food additives on health and quality of life in all age categories of children. The aim of this work is to provide an integrated overview of properties of selected food additives focusing on allergic and hypersensitivity reactions on children. This work also points to other imminent direct or indirect health risks in association with exposure to certain additives in different age groups of children. Due to a great amount of food additives is a big challenge to specificity causal triggers of food adverse reaction on children. Therefore, we present results and experience in the diagnosis of predominantly IgE-mediated reactions to food additives using the basophile activation test methodology (BAT). Also we present specific case reports of patients with a positive BAT result. BAT is helpful in vitro and non-invasive methodology to identify potential inducer of adverse allergic reactions with the necessity of confirmation by standardized exposure tests in unclear cases.