Food Allergy Test (44 Allergens)
This comprehensive panel tests for IgE-mediated allergies to 44 common food items, including dairy, nuts, seafood, grains, and fruits. It helps identify foods that may trigger allergic reactions.
- DHA-licensed lab
- Includes Doctor Consultation
- Physician-reviewed
- Same Day Collection
2 to 3 days
Turnaround
Blood
Sample
What the Food Allergy Test (44 Allergens) test tells you
A food allergy panel measures immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies in a blood sample and reports them separately for each food included. IgE is the antibody class behind immediate allergic reactions: the itching, hives, swelling of the lips or throat, sudden vomiting or wheezing that appear within minutes to a few hours of eating. Because the measurement happens in the laboratory rather than on the skin, the test can be done when eczema covers the forearms, when antihistamines cannot be stopped, or when a previous reaction was severe enough that skin testing feels unwise.
The forty-four foods on this panel cover the groups responsible for most reactions: cow's milk and egg, peanut and tree nuts, wheat and soy, fish and shellfish, along with a spread of fruits, vegetables, seeds and spices. Reporting each allergen separately lets your doctor read a pattern rather than a single yes or no. Related foods often rise together, and that parallel rise is itself a useful clue about which protein family your immune system has learned to recognise.
A detectable antibody means your immune system has responded to that food; the medical word for it is sensitisation. Sensitisation and allergy are not the same thing, and many people carry antibodies to foods they eat comfortably every week. What turns a laboratory finding into a diagnosis is the story that goes with it: what you ate, how quickly you reacted, what the reaction looked like, and whether it has happened more than once. In unclear cases your doctor may add a supervised feeding challenge before advising you to avoid anything long term.
Recommended if you experience hives, swelling, digestive distress, or anaphylaxis after eating, and need to identify the specific trigger foods.
- Narrow down a trigger
When several foods were eaten together, testing each allergen separately helps your doctor shortlist the likely culprit instead of guessing from the menu.
- No skin pricks needed
A blood sample can be taken while your skin is inflamed or while you are still on antihistamines, both of which interfere with skin prick testing.
- Avoid needless restriction
Clear results give your doctor grounds to return a wrongly excluded food to the diet, which matters most for children and for staple foods.
- Support an emergency plan
Knowing which foods you react to helps your doctor decide whether you should carry adrenaline and what a written action plan should say.
Reasons your doctor may request the Food Allergy Test (44 Allergens) test
Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.
Reactions after eating
- Hives, lip or eyelid swelling, or sudden vomiting appearing soon after a meal.
- Itching or tingling in the mouth when eating fresh fruit, nuts or raw vegetables.
Severe reactions & eczema
- A previous severe allergic reaction whose trigger was never identified.
- A child with troublesome eczema whose parents suspect a food is involved.
Before changing your diet
- Before removing a nutritionally important food group such as milk, wheat or fish from a long-term diet.
This is a Multi-parameter panel, so there is no single figure to read: your report grades every food on the list individually, from negative to strongly positive. A negative grade means no specific IgE against that food was detected. A positive grade means your immune system has made antibodies to it: sensitisation, which is not the same as allergy, and many people carry antibodies to foods they eat comfortably every week. The strength of a grade does not forecast how severe a future reaction would be, and botanically related foods often rise together because their proteins resemble one another. What turns a positive grade into a diagnosis is the history beside it: what you ate, how fast you reacted, and whether it has happened more than once. Reactions that do not involve IgE, such as coeliac disease or lactose intolerance, are not covered here. Read the panel with your doctor.
Medically reviewed by Dr Nirupama Sabhapathy
This test is reported descriptively rather than on a numeric scale: each finding below explains what your report may say.
Each food is graded individually (e.g. from negative to strongly positive). Your report lists the grade for every item in the panel.
Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.
What a higher result can point to
- A genuine food allergy, where the antibodies and the symptom history point to the same food.
- Silent sensitisation, meaning antibodies to a food that is eaten regularly without any reaction.
- Cross-reactivity between botanically related foods, such as several tree nuts or several legumes rising together.
- Pollen–food cross-reactivity, where antibodies raised against pollen also bind similar proteins in raw fruit and vegetables.
- A strongly atopic background, with eczema, asthma or hay fever lifting antibody production broadly.
These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.
What this test cannot tell you
- A positive result shows sensitisation, not proof that eating the food will cause symptoms.
- The panel is fixed, so a trigger that is not among the foods tested will be missed entirely.
- Reactions that do not involve IgE (coeliac disease, lactose intolerance, food protein-induced enterocolitis) are invisible to this test and need separate investigation.
- The strength of a result does not forecast how severe a future reaction would be.
Risks of the blood draw
- Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
- Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
- Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
- 1The panel measures IgE, the antibody class responsible for fast allergic reactions.
- 2Antibodies to a food mean sensitisation; a diagnosis also needs your symptom history.
- 3Related foods often appear together because their proteins resemble one another.
- 4A negative panel does not rule out non-allergic reactions to food.
- 5Results are meant to be read with your doctor rather than used to build an elimination diet alone.
Food Allergy Test (44 Allergens) also comes in these focused packages, which pair it with the tests usually read alongside it.
- Allergy & IntoleranceInhalant Allergy Test (44 Allergens)
This panel screens for IgE-mediated allergies to 44 airborne allergens, including pollens, dust mites, moulds, and animal dander. It helps identify…
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This comprehensive panel tests IgG-mediated reactivity to over 220 food items. Unlike allergies, intolerances cause delayed symptoms like bloating,…
1499View - HaematologyAbsolute Eosinophil Count
This test measures the number of eosinophils, white blood cells that fight parasites and play a role in allergic responses. Elevated counts may point…
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Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the Food Allergy Test (44 Allergens) test. Can't find what you're looking for?
Talk to our team→Each of the 44 foods is graded individually, from negative to strongly positive, so there is no single overall figure. A negative grade means no specific IgE against that food was detected. A positive grade shows sensitisation, meaning your immune system has made antibodies to it, and it becomes a diagnosis only when it matches your symptom history.
A food allergy involves IgE, the antibody behind fast reactions such as hives, swelling or anaphylaxis, and that is what this panel measures. An intolerance such as lactose intolerance does not involve IgE, and nor does coeliac disease, so neither shows up here. Those need separate investigation chosen by your doctor.
Not entirely. A negative grade means no IgE was detected against the foods on the panel, but the list is fixed, so a trigger that is not among the 44 foods is missed. Reactions that do not involve IgE, such as food protein-induced enterocolitis, can also cause symptoms while the panel stays clear.
Not on the strength of the panel alone. Many positive grades reflect sensitisation to foods people eat comfortably, and removing them all can narrow your diet for no benefit. The results are meant to be read with your doctor against your reaction history, and your doctor then advises which foods, if any, to avoid.
Hives, swelling, digestive upset or anaphylaxis after eating are the reactions this panel is designed to investigate, especially when they follow a particular food quickly. Eczema, asthma or hay fever make sensitisation more likely in general. Bring a note of what you ate and how fast symptoms began, since that history decides how the grades are read.
No. Antihistamines blunt the skin response that a prick test depends on, but they do not change the amount of specific IgE circulating in your blood, so the sample can be taken while you keep taking them.
That pattern is common and is called sensitisation without allergy. Your immune system has made antibodies to a protein in that food, but they are not driving a clinical reaction. Your doctor will usually weigh your symptom history more heavily than an antibody on its own.
Not reliably. A higher antibody level makes a genuine allergy more likely, but it does not predict the severity of the next reaction. Someone with a modest result can still react badly, and the reverse happens too.
Many nut and legume proteins are structurally similar, so antibodies raised against one can bind its relatives in the laboratory. Your doctor may check tolerance to the others individually rather than removing the whole group.
No. Fasting is not needed, and you should keep eating normally, including any food you suspect, because avoiding it beforehand does not sharpen the result. Bring a short note of what you ate before each reaction and how long the symptoms took to appear.
The food allergy test is AED 499, including a physician-reviewed report, with results usually within 2 to 3 days. Collection at home anywhere in Dubai, or at our lab, is free with this test, because it reaches the AED 300 threshold on its own.