1. Food allergy deaths in Ontario are on the rise.
   
   
   FALSE. This was not born out in our study, despite the fact that increased awareness alone might have led to more accurate and hence more frequent reporting of deaths. Our study suggested that the rate has remained the same or even declined over the past 14 years.



2. People rarely die from food-induced anaphylaxis in their own homes.
   
   
   FALSE. 30/32 of the people in our study died in their own homes.



3. Food allergic people are dying in Ontario because of poor food labeling.
   
   
   FALSE. We were able to examine this issue in 24/32 cases. The commonest mistakes included failure to read a food label or menu or to ask about ingredients in prepared foods (n=11/24).



4. Anaphylaxis deaths in restaurants are usually due to cross-contamination.
   
   
   FALSE. Trace cross-contamination could possibly have played a role in 3/32 deaths for which an allergen was not clearly identified. Otherwise, we did not see this in our study.



5. People who experience "mild" reactions to peanuts, tree nuts or shrimp, will probably never have a fatal reaction.
   
   
   FALSE. 6/32 people had experienced "mild" reactions in the past. 5/30 had never reported their symptoms to a physician.



6. Most food allergic people who die from anaphylaxis are not carrying epinephrine at the time of death because they are non-compliant.
   
   
   FALSE. 11/32 people had been prescribed epinephrine. 4/11 had it "close by" at the time of their reaction, but timing of administration was difficult to ascertain. Only one person had refused to carry epinephrine despite a history of severe reactions and another felt that they could not afford it.



7. There have been severe reactions and even deaths on airlines following exposure to peanut dust or trace peanut protein residue on seats.
   
   
   FALSE. There was one in-flight death in our study. It followed actual ingestion of food and did not involve either peanut or tree nut.



8. Simply the smell of peanut butter can trigger a severe or even fatal reaction.
   
   
   FALSE. All fatalities followed actual ingestion of food. There were also two examples of a peanut butter-contaminated knife.



9. During the study period - 1986 to 2000 - children continued to die from anaphylaxis in Ontario schools and camps.
   
   
   FALSE. During the study period, the last death reported in an Ontario camp or school occurred in 1994. Between 1986 and 1994 there had been 6 such deaths.



10. The first sign of food allergy is often a fatal allergic reaction.
    
    
    FALSE. As far as we could tell, at least 10/32 people had shown some prior reactivity to their allergen. 2/6 people who died from ingestion of tree nut knew that they were allergic to peanut but had not been tested for tree nuts.

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