Gelatine sensitisation and red meat allergy in adults
What it found
In adults seen at an Australian allergy clinic, most of those allergic to red meat were also sensitised to gelatine, and a subset reacted to gelatine itself.
The link appears to involve a sugar called alpha-Gal, which was found in gelatine colloids.
What they found
Studies in people
Gelatine sensitisation rate
Positive gelatine skin tests were found in 40 of 1335 people tested. Of these, 30 were among the 40 patients diagnosed with red meat allergy.
Red meat and gelatine overlap
Of 40 patients with red meat allergy, 30 were also sensitised to gelatine on skin testing. Twelve of the red meat allergic patients reported allergic reactions to gelatine without eating meat.
Gelatine challenges
Four patients with idiopathic anaphylaxis and positive gelatine tests tolerated 10g of oral gelatine but reacted to intravenous gelatine colloid at doses from 0.024g to 4.1g. After avoiding meat and gelatine, their reported episodes fell.
Alpha-Gal link
Blood tests for alpha-Gal antibodies were positive in 20 of 24 patients with meat allergy and in 20 of 22 with positive gelatine skin tests. The two test results were strongly correlated.
Tick bites
Of 40 meat-allergic patients, 24 described large local reactions to tick bites and 26 lived in or visited tick-endemic areas. Of 10 tick-allergic patients, 7 were sensitised to red meat.
Animal and lab studies
Alpha-Gal in gelatine
Alpha-Gal was detected in bovine gelatine colloids at about 0.44 to 0.52 micrograms per gram of gelatine. It was not found in fish gelatine or cow's milk.
What the authors conclude
“Most patients allergic to red meat were sensitized to gelatin, and a subset was clinically allergic to both.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that most patients allergic to red meat are sensitised to gelatine, and that a subset will react to intravenous and sometimes oral gelatine.
- They advise that patients with reactions to either red meat or gelatine should be tested for sensitisation to both and warned if results are positive.
- They say the relationship between tick bites and sensitisation to red meat, alpha-Gal and gelatine remains uncertain.
How it was done
The authors had seen patients who were allergic to red meat and to meat-derived gelatine, and wanted to work out how common this overlap is and whether a positive gelatine test predicts a real reaction.
They skin tested 1335 adults seen between 1997 and 2011 for suspected allergy to food, medication or insect venom, using gelatine colloid. Where possible they also measured antibodies in blood, and some patients had supervised gelatine challenges.
What it can’t tell you
- This study looked only at adults, so the results may not apply to children.
- The link between tick bites and these allergies is an association and cannot prove that tick bites cause the sensitisation.
- Some findings rely on patients remembering and reporting their own reactions, which can be inaccurate.
Who paid
- Funding
- Funded by NIAID NIH HHS (from the PubMed record).
- Authors work at
- John James Medical Centre, Australia; Australian National University, Australia
The paper
- Title
- Relationship between red meat allergy and sensitization to gelatin and galactose-α-1,3-galactose
- Type
- Study
- Evidence
- Studies in people · animals · lab
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Mullins RJ, James H, Platts-Mills TA, Commins S (2012). Relationship between red meat allergy and sensitization to gelatin and galactose-α-1,3-galactose. The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology. doi:10.1016/j.jaci.2012.02.038Free full textPubMed 22480538DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error