FISH ALLERGY - IS IT A REAL PROBLEM WITH SURIMI-BASED PRODUCTS

IgE-mediated reactions to fish are among the most commonly encountered food allergies in adults. This study was undertaken to assess fish-sensitive subjects' allergic reactivity to pizza toppings produced from Alaskan pollack derived surimi. Our results demonstrated that a significant proportion of fish-sensitive individuals react to pizza toppings by skin test and radioallergabsorbent test. Radioallergabsorbent test inhibitions also demonstrated that some cross-reactivity of pizza toppings with fish species exists, particularly with members of the Gadiforme family which includes Alaskan pollack. We believe that caution is advisable for fish-allergic subjects ingesting fish-based surimi products.