Last updated: December 9, 2024

A food allergy is when the immune system mistakes a protein in a food as harmful and triggers an allergic reaction. Whether you or someone in your care has an allergy, making safe food choices that support good health can be hard. Learn about prevention, testing and management, as well as how to treat a severe allergic reaction.

Food allergies and allergic conditions such as eczema and hay fever tend to run in families. Learn how to reduce your baby’s risk of developing food allergies: 

• Reducing the risk of food allergy in your baby
• Eczema and food allergy in babies and young children

Find out how food allergies are diagnosed and the tests that are available to help:

•  Food allergy testing 

Learn how to read food labels to avoid your food allergens and stay safe:

• Allergens and gluten sources labelling (Government of Canada) 
• Information about pea protein for people with peanut allergy (Government of Canada) 
• Information for people with a crustacean allergy (Government of Canada) 
• Tips for avoiding common allergens in food (Government of Canada)

Some people with food allergy are at risk of having a severe allergic reaction. Learn about the signs of a severe allergic reaction and how to treat it immediately. Also find resources for school staff, parents and adult care facilities:

• Severe allergic reaction: Anaphylaxis
• Severe allergic reaction to food: Children and teens (HealthLink BC File #100a)
• Allergy safe adult care facilities (HealthLink BC File #100b) 
• Safe and healthy schools: Anaphylaxis 
• Patient and school resources (Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology)

Government of Canada
Information about food allergies including risks, symptoms and how to avoid food-based allergic reactions.

Food Allergy Canada 

A non-profit dedicated to helping Canadians with food allergies live with confidence.