Background Food allergy represents a significant global public health concern, with potential consequences ranging from mild symptoms to life-threatening anaphylaxis. The prevalence and types of food allergens vary across cultural and geographic populations. However, a substantial gap remains in the knowledge of food allergy prevalence and patterns within the Saudi population. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted using search engines such as PubMed, Medline, and Google Scholar, employing various keyword combinations to identify studies related to food allergy within the Saudi Arabian context. All relevant publications were reviewed to assess the current state of knowledge and to highlight existing gaps that warrant further investigation. Results Between 1999 and 2025, a total of 20 studies addressing IgE-mediated food allergy in the Saudi population were identified. Among these, only 9 (45%) studies incorporated serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) measurement as part of their diagnostic methodology. Reported prevalence rates varied widely, ranging from 1.75% to over 30%, depending on the diagnostic approach and characteristics of the study population. The primary finding of this review is that the substantial variation in reported prevalence is largely attributable to differences in the methodologies employed to diagnose food allergy. Conclusion Several of the reviewed studies exhibited significant limitations in their diagnostic methodologies, potentially leading to overestimation of prevalence and incorrect identification of causative food allergens. Notably, both the reported prevalence of food allergies and the most commonly implicated allergens varied considerably across studies. These findings may serve as a valuable resource for researchers by providing insight into existing literature and highlighting areas that warrant focused investigation in future research.
AlJaber et al. (Thu,) studied this question.