Allergy & Immunology

Food Allergies

Expert Roundtables Podcast: Advances in Diagnosing IgE-Mediated Food Allergies

expert roundtables by David M. Fleischer, MD; Anna H. Nowak-Węgrzyn, MD, PhD, FAAAAI, FACAAI; Jonathan M. Spergel, MD, PhD

Overview

Currently, we still rely primarily on skin prick testing and serum allergen-specific IgE testing, along with a patient’s clinical history, to diagnose IgE-mediated food allergies, with the oral food challenge remaining the gold standard for confirmatory testing, particularly when the diagnosis remains uncertain. In this podcast, our experts discuss these established diagnostic modalities and newer approaches, including basophil activation testing, mast cell activation testing, and epitope-specific IgE testing.

References

Balsiger LM, Würgler OM, Sampson HA, Eggel A. Emerging diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities in food allergy. Front Immunol. 2026;16:1715845. doi:10.3389/fimmu.2025.1715845

Boyd H, Santos AF. Novel diagnostics in food allergy. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2025;155(2):275-285. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2024.12.1071

Bunyavanich S, Akdis M, Berin MC, et al. Novel biomarkers and diagnostic tools in food allergy. Allergy. 2026;81(7):2276-2289. doi:10.1111/all.70133

Niegowska M, Valluzzi RL, Arasi S. Basophil activation test in food allergy: where are we now? Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2026;26(3):227-232. doi:10.1097/ACI.0000000000001151

Wong DSH, Santos AF. The future of food allergy diagnosis. Front Allergy. 2024;5:1456585. doi:10.3389/falgy.2024.1456585

Yanagida N, Sato S, Ebisawa M. Stepwise oral food challenge test. Curr Opin Allergy Clin Immunol. 2026;26(3):193-200. doi:10.1097/ACI.0000000000001149

Profile

David M. Fleischer, MD

Section Head, Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
Professor of Pediatrics
Director, Allergy and Immunology Center
Children’s Hospital Colorado
University of Colorado School of Medicine
Aurora, CO

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Anna H. Nowak-Węgrzyn, MD, PhD, FAAAAI, FACAAI

Professor of Pediatrics
New York University Grossman School of Medicine
Director, Division of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology, Department of Pediatrics
Hassenfeld Children’s Hospital at NYU Langone
NYU Langone Health
New York, NY

Profile

Jonathan M. Spergel, MD, PhD

Professor of Pediatrics
Chief, Allergy Section
Director, Food Allergy Center and Center for Pediatric Eosinophilic Disorders
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA