The two reports presented at the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology’s annual meeting, in Seattle, show that almost 3 million children (under 18) had a food allergy in 2007 and it was an 18% percent increase since 1997.

“The problem is something more than numbers, as the severity of food allergies is going up,” said Dr. Sami L. Bahna, who is a professor of pediatrics and medicine at Louisiana State University Health Science Center.

“We can see a considerable increase in severe attacks of airway obstruction, intestinal problems and severe rashes,” Bahna said.

“The thing that is noteworthy is the method exposure is also changing, as people used to react by eating the food in the past, but now a lot of people react by smelling or even touching the food,”

“Only food allergies are not on the rise, as many other allergies like asthma, eczema and hay fever are also increasing,” he added.

According to expert, there are many factors that contributing to the increase in allergies. The so-called ‘hygiene hypothesis’ is the first one that says people in industrial countries living in an increasingly sterile environments. And because of this, their immune systems don’t have to fight a lot of infections.