Oral food challenges in routine clinical practice

The oral food challenge (OFC) is a vital tool in the accurate diagnosis of food allergy. While the OFC does come with the risk of a serious reaction, it is a much more specific test than other available allergy tests. When the OFC is carefully prepared and conducted under close physician supervision by an allergist/immunologist, the benefits of the test do outweigh the potential risks, as the result often leads to the elimination of unnecessary dietary restrictions and improved quality of life for our patients.