A leading charity has been criticised for promoting a test which is claimed to show food intolerances but which experts say does not work.
The Asthma Society of Ireland advertised a discount for members on YorkTest Laboratories’ food intolerance tests in its most recent newsletter.
The Irish Food Allergy Network (IFAN) and the Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA), which regulates medical technology, have said that the test for immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies only shows that a food has been eaten, not that a person has had an abnormal reaction to it.
Dietitians have raised concerns that such tests cause people to needlessly remove foods from their or their children’s diets, which can lead to ill-health.
Ruth Charles, secretary of IFAN, has asked the Asthma Society to issue a statement advising members that the test was not based on evidence.
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“We expressed our immediate and strong dissatisfaction over their support of non-evidenced-based testing and lack of governance in allowing the ad,” Ms Charles said. “It is the considered professional opinion of IFAN that there is neither a rational scientific basis nor proven role for IgG testing and it has no place in diagnosing food allergy or food intolerance. It should not be performed for this purpose. This opinion is shared by the European, American and Australian professional allergy organisations.” The HPRA is conducting a review of these tests which is due to be concluded by the end of the summer. A spokesman said there was no evidence that an increase in IgG is “anything other than a marker that someone has recently been exposed to a certain foodstuff”. He added: “There is no scientifically valid test to determine food intolerance.”
Richard Costello, chairman of the Asthma Society’s medical committee, defended the promotion. He said: “The Asthma Society sent a once-off communication to our members regarding a discounted offer for food intolerance testing. We did this as we believe that addressing food issues may help people optimise their overall health. The offer was a once-off communication and has not been withdrawn.”
Under Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland guidelines, tests should only be offered or performed by pharmacists “where there is an established clinical and scientific evidence base and for which the validity, accuracy and reliability of the test can be assured”.
The society warned pharmacists two years ago after a previous HPRA notice that they “should consider the usefulness of these tests in light of the HPRA notice and a pharmacist’s responsibilities under their code of conduct”.
Dietitians are not permitted to offer such tests to the public and risk being struck off the Health and Social Care Professionals Council register and become subject to a fitness to practice inquiry if they did so.
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Sarah Keogh, a dietitian at the Albany Clinic in Dublin, said she was “a little bit bewildered” as to why IgG tests were still for sale.
Niamh O’Connor, a dietitian at Cork Nutrition Consultancy, said: “I have seen several case of parents taking their kids for food intolerance tests and putting them on extremely restrictive diets as a result, which quickly can lead to malnutrition, growth stunting, anaemia and other nutritional deficiencies.”
Boots does not offer the IgG test in Britain but does in Ireland at a charge of up to €340 depending on the number of foods being tested. It is also offered by the Irish-owned chain Sam McCauley Chemists at similar prices.
Gill Hart, the scientific director of YorkTest Laboratories, said that the company agreed with IFAN that the test should not be used as a diagnostic tool. She said this was made clear in the literature which accompanies it.
“Measurement of food-specific IgG antibodies is, however, used as a strategy for identifying foods to which a subject may be sensitive,” she said.
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“This type of testing is now considered mainstream as many choose to use this approach as a starting point for an elimination diet.”