Increase in the amount of people affected with allergies – evidence – growth in allergy free groceries

Saturday, 14 April 2012
The amount of people demanding allergy free groceries is exploding, begging the question of what is added in our food in the supermarket today of whether it has to so with life style or the environment.

Reports suggest that it is getting crowded in the store shelves with special diets as the sales of gluten – and lactose-free products is increasing rapidly in Sweden and many other places. For food retailer and various chains, the allergy ranges is becoming a competitive sectors that customers also are willing to pay extra for. The foods of this range are not cheap.

Although only three to five percent of the Swedish population suffers from lactose intolerance, and one to two percent, about one hundred, estimated to suffer from gluten intolerance, celiac disease, sales of food related to these intolerances nearly doubled last year compared to the year before.

Allergy product range now accounts for about two percent of total sales in the Swedish ICA stores and has increased steadily in recent years, both Axfood and Coop also confirms the increase.

Sales for the total category gluten-free products in the grocery trade have increased by over 18 percent in the last three years, according to the research firm AC Nielsen.

“We are starting to get crowded on all new products on the shelves, soon we will have a shelf, says Peter Fehn, store manager at Ica.
In families in which one is allergic, many choose to just buy special food, but there is also a health trend that point out to problems with gluten and lactose, which causes a large amount of diffuse symptoms.

“We see the general health trend as a factor in sales growth,” according to Louise Stephan, PR Manager at Coop.

Doctor Jonas Ludvigsson in Örebro has done research in celiac disease and believe there are several reasons for both the increase in diagnoses and the increasing trend of gluten-free diet. During the 1990s there was a sharp increase in celiac disease among young children in the revised dietary guidelines. The long-term increase of the disease must depend on environmental factors as our genetic inheritance does not change during the course of 50-100 years.

Eating gluten free is mostly in the belief that it is healthier and such is a strong trend in the United States supported inter alia by celebrities and athletes, but it may it mean that one do not get everything they need.
“One should be aware that the gluten-free diet is often poor in fibre and may be deficient in vitamins. If one does not have celiac disease or feel physically better of gluten-free diet, it is recommended that a regular diet should be taken instead,” he says
By Scancomark.se Team

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