Anaphylaxis to apple and orange seed

To the Editor: Childhood fruit allergy is relatively common, with up to 3% of 3-year-olds having allergy to citrus fruit,1 the best-studied example being oranges.2 Susceptible subjects generally present with symptoms of oral allergy syndrome (also known as pollen-food syndrome) with associated pollen sensitization.3 Although there are a limited number of reports of patients reacting to citrus seeds in the absence of clinical reactivity to fruit pulp/peel,4,5 there are no previous reports of apple seed allergy. To further characterize the nature of the allergy in this third patient, we prepared extracts of peel/pulp and seeds from Granny Smith apples, peanut, and sesame seed, as previously described.7 We also attempted extraction of the apple and oat baby food.