Testing for food allergies is a time consuming and expensive process.

The most accurate testing available is the double-blind placebo-controlled food challenge. Besides the expense and timeline, this method is also more than a little frightening. Parents and doctors both know that the threat of anaphylaxis (a severe allergic reaction) can occur during a food challenge.

And even after going through the stress and expense, this "gold standard" of food allergy testing is only up to 81 percent accurate.

Researchers at University College Cork in Ireland decided that simply wasn't good enough.

So they set to work on a new gold standard. And what they've come up with is nothing short of amazing.

They developed an online calculator that is not only 96 percent accurate -- it also gives results in seconds. That's right -- seconds.

Their calculator deals with only three food allergies at present, but they're big ones -- cow's milk, eggs, and peanuts.

Using a mathematical model, they incorporated information on outcomes of data on a wide range of clinical factors. It all gets incredibly technical from there, but what they ended up with is a prediction calculator that will bring the cost of food allergy tests way down as well as guide allergy treatment and management plans.

The Cork-Southampton calculator isn't available yet, but representatives of the University plan to have it out this year.

You can bet I'll be keeping an eye on developments. At a time when food allergies are becoming more and more prevalent, this could be a very big deal for families of young children. Keep watching my posts and I'll share information as I get it.

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