China's potential for allergen-free products is largely untapped

Immunity health high on the agenda for Chinese consumers, but allergy awareness continuing to fall short

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ALLERGIES have become a big issue in recent times as the number of consumers in China, and indeed around the world, who have been diagnosed as having allergies, is on the increase. Although this suggests that the prevalence of such conditions is increasing, a large contributory factor is that medical testing is more accurate and more widely available. Consumers being diagnosed as having a particular allergy may not have been diagnosed in previous times. Measuring prevalence of allergies is difficult, especially in a market as large and diverse as China. In 2009, Draco Healthcare estimated that as many as 37% of Chinese consumers had some form of allergy disease, with those in eastern coastal and industrialised regions more likely to have allergies than those in the inner land and rural areas. It is thought, however, that allergy prevalence is lower in China and surrounding markets compared to the West partly because of how food is prepared. To use a very common example, peanuts - which millions of consumers worldwide are extremely allergic to - are roasted in markets such as the US but boiled in China. Experts believe that preparing these nuts by roasting them is more likely to make them highly allergenic. Chinese consumers are certainly aware of the need to be careful when purchasing groceries in case they are not suitable for consumption by someone with a certain allergy or intolerance. In Datamonitor's new 2010 consumer survey, 12.9% of Chinese respondents said that they avoid certain food or drinks for allergy or intolerance reasons 'all the time'. A further 35.4% said they do so 'most of the time'. Almost a third (29.7%) 'occasionally' do so, whilst less than a quarter do so 'rarely' (13.9%) or 'never' (8.2%). The allergy/intolerance confusion One potentially huge market inhibitor is that many consumers do not understand the difference between an allergy and an intolerance. Allergies impact upon the immune system, causing the body to reject what has been ingested. Consuming something that triggers an allergy can potentially be fatal. This makes it a dietary necessity to eliminate all offending foods from a consumer's diet. Common allergens include eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, soy, tree nuts, and wheat. On the other hand, intolerances affect the digestive system. The consumer may not be able to produce enough of the required chemical or enzyme to properly digest the offending food, which can cause symptoms such as nausea, abdominal pain and diarrhoea. As the effects are generally less serious than those caused by food allergies, the consumer only has to moderate consumption rather than abstain completely. Although focusing on US consumers only, a January 2010 Harris Interactive survey of 1,013 adults for HomeFree looked at allergy/intolerance confusion. The survey confirmed HomeFree's hypothesis that US consumers have a significant shortfall in knowledge regarding these matters. The results show that:

Less than half (46%) identified eggs and wheat as common food allergens Nearly half (43%) incorrectly identified gluten as an allergen 57% incorrectly believe it could be an immediate life-threatening emergency when somebody who is not supposed to eat gluten eats a brownie and has a physical reaction Only 3% could correctly identify all four listed common food allergens (nuts, dairy, eggs and wheat) without making any incorrect identifications

In the UK, there is similar confusion. Research published by the Sunday Times in 2007 revealed that 12 million people claim to have an allergy or intolerance but fewer than a quarter can verify this with a medical diagnosis. Furthermore, many consumers (incorrectly) self-diagnose online and more than one in three (39%) think it is 'trendy' toZoom Lebron XIV 14