Introduction. In Canada, perceived prevalence of food allergy surpasses systematic estimates. Canadian immigrants have been found more likely to rate the risk of food allergy as “high” compared to nonimmigrants. Methods. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 3 key informants and 18 allergic individuals of East and Southeast Asian descent in order to capture their lived experience with food allergies. Results. Participants found food allergies to be more common in Canada than in Asia. Participants also agreed that having a food allergy is more manageable in Canada as a result of the policy environment (e.g., food labelling and school policies). In addition, participants had dealt with skepticism and disbelief about their food allergy in Asia, resulting in social exclusion and impacting quality of life. Discussion. Findings demonstrate the need to recognize the varied impacts and experiences of food allergy among new Canadians, given that immigrants represent a large and growing proportion of the Canadian population. 1. Introduction Food allergy policies in public places and stories in the popular press are evidence of the rising awareness of food allergies as an important public health risk [1]. In its most severe form, IgE-mediated food allergies can lead to anaphylaxis, which is potentially fatal. Internationally, food allergy prevalence varies widely with age and geography. For example, self-reported prevalence in the US is 9.1% (8% for children) and 5.3% for respondents with a physician diagnosis [2, 3]. In Canada, overall prevalence rates are around 7% [4]. The Canadian estimates, however, were based on a nonrepresentative sample that underrepresented vulnerable populations (i.e., low income families, immigrants, and Aboriginal Peoples) [5, 6]; a second national survey undertaken to address this limitation indicated that the prevalence of self-reported food allergy for immigrants who have lived in Canada for less than 10 years (herein referred to as “new Canadians”) was substantially lower than their Canadian born counterparts: 3.2% [7]. These researchers also investigated perceived prevalence of food allergy in the same populations and found that perceived prevalence was observed to surpass systematic estimates by up to 30% [8]. The gap between perceived and actual risk of food allergy suggests that the public’s perception of true risk of allergy is, in fact, inflated [9]. Moreover, new Canadians were found more likely to rate the risk of food allergy as “high” compared to nonimmigrants or immigrants who have lived in Canada for over 10 years
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