Open sesame: Shedding light on an emerging global allergen

Sesame allergy has been characterized in the Middle East for some time. However, it has become more widely recognized as foods containing sesame and sesame seeds have become increasingly available in Australia, Europe, and North America. With the passage of the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act in 2021, the United States will join other countries in identifying sesame as a major food allergen and require sesame to be labeled as a food allergen beginning in 2023.

To review the literature related to sesame allergy as an increasingly recognized food allergen around the world.

English-language articles retrieved by PubMed searches with relevance to sesame allergy.

Articles were included using the search terms "sesame allergy" and "sesame seed allergy."

A total of 69 relevant articles regarding sesame allergy, relating to its prevalence, clinical presentation, natural history, allergenic epitopes, diagnosis, and treatment, were selected.

In recent decades, considerable gains have been made in determining prevalence and natural history of sesame allergy. With increased recognition and prevalence come the need for reliable methods of identification of sesame allergy and approaches for management.