Ah ha... looks like the reporting is definitely a problem at some level. A common test to decide if a kid has an allergy tests for antibodies (IgE). Turns out that having antibodies is poorly related to actually having allergic reactions. A study in the UK took 79 kids with peanut allergies (as determined by antibody tests), and fed them peanuts in a challenge test (a controlled, medical setting so they would be instantly treated for any adverse reaction. 66 of the 79 had no reaction to eating peanuts (83.5%). Another test is a skin prick, but it's also not ideal since a wheal below a certain diameter, while indicative of a vastly lower chance of having an allergic reaction, is also sometimes wrong (<5mm is OK 80% of the time).
Another study of mixed food allergy types reported in the American Association of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology found that more than half given food challenges of the food their parents thought they were allergic to... showed no allergic reaction.
They said that what happens is a kid has some allergic reaction, then the peds doc has an antibody test drawn, and then they are given a laundry list of things the kid is allergic to. Of course most of the things they are "allergic" to they will never have a reaction if they eat.
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"Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one." — Thomas Paine
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