Food label reading habits of mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergy before and after training.

Background: One of the most important points in the treatment of food allergies is the avoidance of the culprit allergen. This study aimed to determine whether the training given by a dietitian to mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergies increased the habit of reading food labels.

Methods: Mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergies were trained on reading food labels by a dietitian. Then, the mothers' food label reading habits were measured with a questionnaire form at 3-month intervals before and after the training.

Results: The study included 56 children with IgE-mediated food allergies and their mothers. Thirty-four (60.7%) of the patients were males. The median age was 10 (min-max = 1-52) months. The most common food allergen was eggs, and this allergy was detected in 31 (55.3%) of the patients. The most common systemic involvement was skin, which was seen in all patients (100.0%). Fifty-six mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergies participated in the study (Median age: 30 years, min-max = 20-45). There were statistically significant differences between the pre- and post-training groups in terms of the answers to the question "What are the things that affect you the most when buying food?" as "Label information on food packaging," "Do you look at the product label when purchasing food?" as "yes," "If your answer is "yes," "Which food group do you look at?" as "milk and dairy products or eggs and products," and "What do you pay attention to on food labels?" as "allergen information" (P = 0.001,0.001, 0.001,0.001, and 0.001, respectively).

Conclusion: This study concluded that providing training by a dietitian on how to read food labels to mothers of children with IgE-mediated food allergies increases mothers' awareness of reading the labels.