Welcome to our award-winning food allergy website. In 2007 Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board was founded by San Francisco-based food allergy expert Mireille Schwartz. Currently, Mireille contributes to CNN Health, ABC7 News, KQED Radio & NPR, Huffington Post, Forbes Magazine, and Allergic Living Magazine. Mireille served on the Board of Directors for FAAN (The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network).

The fact is: food allergy is a growing public health concern in the United States. More than 12 million Americans have food allergies. That’s one in 25, or 4 percent of the population. The incidence of food allergy is highest in young children, 1 in 17 among those under age 3. About 3 million children in the U.S. have food allergies. The root cause of food allergy remains largely mysterious; though reasons for this are poorly understood, the prevalence of food allergy appears to be on the rise.

The Mission of the Bay Area Allergy Advisory Board is to promote education, awareness, advocacy, and provide no-cost medical care & medication to Bay Area families with severely food allergic children.

Eight foods, or “The Big 8”, account for 90 percent of all food-allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g., walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.

Yet our local schools, restaurants, grocery stores, and other public places still need to support food allergic individuals as we develop an action plan they can LIVE with!

Always carry your up-to-date rescue medication & auto-injector at all times. While these changes seem challenging and overwhelming at first, over time things will get easier. To address the growing problem of food allergies: there is a need for improved diagnostics and therapies, as well as up-to-date training for medical professionals. Beyond the Allergist's walls, broad community awareness and policy change at the state and national level are also necessary. You are not alone. Contact us, we support families with food allergies. We’re here to help.