Regulatory action criteria for filth and other extraneous materials. II. Allergenic mites: an emerging food safety issue.

Four species of food-contaminating mites have recently been reported to have caused IgE-mediated allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, in persons who consumed mite-contaminated foods. The mite species are the American house dust mite, Dermatophagoides farinae Hughes (Acarina: Pyroglyphidae); the scaly grain mite, Suidasia sp. prob. pontifica Oudemans (Acarina: Suidasiidae), an acarid mite, Thyreophagus entomophagus Portus & Gomez (Acarina: Acaridae); and the mold mite, Tyrophagus putrescentiae (Schrank) (Acarina: Acaridae). Allergenic mites are an emerging food safety issue as ingested allergens in mite-contaminated food.