Although oral tolerance is the normal physiologic response to ingested antigens, a
breakdown in this process appears to have occurred in the past 2 decades, leading to an
increasing prevalence of sensitization to food allergens. Over the past decade, basic
research has intensified in an attempt to better understand the mechanisms leading to
sensitization and disease versus desensitization and short-and long-term tolerance. In this
review we assess various factors that can influence tissue and immune responses to food …