Chicken are in the Phasianidae family of animals. Other animals in this family include pheasants, quail, turkey, peacocks and a variety of other game birds.

The main protein associated with eating poultry is chicken serum albumin (which is identical to alpha livetin found in egg yolk). This is also known as Gal d 5.

This is a partially heat-labile allergen (partially damaged by heat); Small studies have shown that IgE reactivity to Chicken albumin was reduced by 88% after heating at 90 degrees Celsius for 30 minutes.

The alpha livetin protein is partially heat labile, so some sufferers will only get reactions from raw chicken and others may get reactions depending on how high a temperature the meat was cooked at and how long for.

There is anecdotal evidence that people may be unable to eat cooked fresh chicken without having allergic symptoms but are able to eat chicken which has been fully frozen before being thawed, cooked, and eaten. This can be explained by a protein shape change caused by freezing or by cooking for an extended period, essentially damaging the protein so it cannot cause a reaction.

Gal d 8 is a alpha-parvalbumin protein, these proteins are also frequently found in fish. They are very stable proteins, so able to cause reactions when cooked or as vapour during cooking.

Gal d 9 is an enolase protein and Gal d 10 an aldolase protein. These are allergenic proteins also found in certain species of fish.

Chicken is a low FODMAP food. FODMAP stands for Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. Foods high in FODMAPs can cause symptoms of food intolerance, affecting the gastro intestinal system and this can be mistaken for a true IgE food allergy.

Chicken does not contain salicylates as they are associated with plants. This makes lean meats a good food to eat if you suffer from symptoms of sensitivity to salicylates.

You can read more about Food Intolerances on the dedicated Food Intolerance Page.

An allergy to poultry can sometimes be associated with an allergy to egg, this is called Bird-Egg Syndrome. In these cases sensitivity to egg is to the proteins in egg yolk, alpha livetin (gal d 5), which is found in both chickens and eggs.

IgE allergy to egg is usually from the egg white (proteins gal d 1 to 4), so whilst people who are allergic to chickens can become intolerant or allergic to egg, it doesn’t usually work the other way around due to the different proteins involved.

Beef and pork are other foods containing serum albumin proteins.

Other foods containing aldolase and enolase proteins include chicken, cod, catfish, salmon and tuna.

These food lists are not exhaustive, the most up to date information is on the Cross Reactivity Tool.

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