Tolerance of Baked Milk Predicts Transient Cow's Milk Allergy

Among the 1% to 3% of children in the U.S. who are allergic to cow's milk, 75% can tolerate milk in a baked product. Nevertheless, allergic patients have been advised to strictly avoid milk in hope of promoting tolerance. Researchers examined the effect of adding baked milk to diets of 88 children with milk allergy.

All children underwent an initial oral challenge to baked milk in a muffin. The 65 children who tolerated the oral challenge were instructed to incorporate baked milk into their diets and underwent periodic challenges to pizza and uncooked milk. After an average of 37 months, 60% tolerated unheated milk, 28% tolerated baked milk and cheese, and 12% chose to avoid milk strictly. In contrast, among the 23 children who reacted to th…