Can I be intolerant or allergic to Quorn?

Quorn® products have been eaten for more than 35 years with over 9 billion Quorn meals now served.

However, it’s important to know that some Quorn products contain allergens, such as egg, milk and gluten. These are clearly marked on the back of pack within the ingredient declaration and the allergy advice section.

There have been rare cases of allergic reactions to products which contain mycoprotein. Mycoprotein is high in protein and fibre which may cause intolerance in some people.

An analysis of frequency of consumer reactions to mycoprotein, carried out by Dr Steve Taylor, Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, University of Nebraska–Lincoln, NE, found that over a 15 year period, there was one reported illness for every 1.85 million servings of Quorn, with the frequency of true allergy reactions being one for every 24.3 million servings. Dr Taylor’s systematic evidence review indicates that incidence of allergic reactions remains exceptionally low, and his findings are written up in the journal Current Developments in Nutrition https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6554455/pdf/nzz021.pdf. Presenting at the American Society for Nutrition annual conference, June 2018, Dr Taylor stated “Quorn is, in my expert opinion, safer than many other sources of protein on the basis of very low prevalence of allergic reaction complaints.”

All protein foods have the potential to cause an adverse reaction in some consumers.