u/Montanabb67

TLDR:

If you suffer from mystery eczema (and perhaps increased heart rate, or chest tightness) after eating crispy / crunchy / flaky baked food, battered food or fluffy flour foods, Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii / INS503ii), might be your culprit.

From my experience creating a detailed Food Journal and self-challenging myself with different foods, I have identified Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii / INS503ii), which is listed as a food-safe raising / leavening agent, as the trigger for my allergic reaction / sensitivity.

Given the lack of information on this allergy / sensitivity, I hope my findings will help anyone facing similar challenges.

Disclaimer:

This is a personal account of my observations. I am not a medical professional / practitioner, and nothing herein is intended to confer medical advice. Please consult a doctor if you experience similar symptoms. This is also not intended to point fingers / lay blame / promote avoidance towards any specific ingredient / food supplier – I have therefore left specific brand names out. This is not a scientific study, and I do not have any solid proof that my hypothesis / theory is accurate.

What is Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii):

There is ample information online on what it is, but in summary, Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii) is listed as a food-safe leavening / raising agent used as a food additive to make cookies, crackers, and batters extra crispy.

It may go by several names: Ammonium Hydrogen Carbonate, Baker’s Ammonia, Hartshorn Salt, E503, INS503, etc. Note that in many regions, manufacturers are not required to specify which raising agent they use, with ingredient labels often just listing “flour” or “raising / leavening agent”.

Alternatives to its use are Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate / E500), which is the far more commonly found ingredient. In some cases, Sourdough is used as an alternative. I do not react to either and consume foods with both ingredients regularly. Note that although Sourdough uses natural yeast to raise / leaven the dough, I have found that some commercial enterprises mix Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii) into the Sourdough preparation to speed up the process!

Symptoms:

I first noticed my allergic reaction / sensitivity about 3 years ago. Prior to this, I had never experienced any food-related allergic reactions or food-sensitivities. However, I understand that sudden onsets of allergies in adulthood are common. Note that I am using these words (“Allergic Reaction” and “Sensitivity” interchangeably. I am aware they carry specific definitions.

The following are my symptoms after consuming food with Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii):

• Immediate (within minutes): Patchy swelling under the eye, increased heart rate (up to 180bpm), shortness of breath, and chest tightness. [Note: These immediate symptoms are rare, and I believe only occur upon ingestion of a high quantity of foods with E503ii]
• Intermediate (within hours): Clogged nose and itchy eyes. I also experience a general tiredness.
• Delayed (approx. 24 hours): Severe eczema and skin dryness, specifically on the fingers (causing deep cuts), nape of the neck, eyelids, and under the tip of the nose. [Note: Eczema is the most common symptom, lasting days / weeks.]

Symptom Relief:

• Increased heart rate and shortness of breath / chest tightness: Corticosteroid tablet, as prescribed by my doctor.
• Eczema: No moisturizer / skin repair / etc. cream has ever worked – I have tried dozens of brands. The only cream that has effectively and consistently repaired my dry / damaged skin is a small local application of a corticosteroid cream, as prescribed by my doctor.

DISCLAIMER: Once again, everything I have mentioned is in no way providing medical advice – please speak to your medical practitioner if you experience any similar symptoms or food-related attacks / reactions.

Food Journal:

I kept a log of all food I was eating, paying more attention to journal anything new or different from my daily intake. I found that being detailed and disciplined in the journaling was important.

1.      Incident Log

On the day of my first attack / reaction, I wrote down every single listed ingredient on the product wrapper (chocolate bar with cookie fillings), including expanding on any abbreviated E or INS numbers (e.g., E503ii / INS 503ii).

2.      Elimination Process

I cross-referenced this list with "safe" foods in my pantry. By noticing which ingredients were only in the "trigger" foods, I narrowed my list of suspects. This then left several unknown food ingredients that remained to be tested.

3.      Self-Challenge

Once recovered, I tested myself with small amounts of food containing only one or two "suspect" ingredients. (Note: Be careful to avoid the "nocebo" effect—stay calm during testing!)

I began my first test by challenging myself with half a chocolate bar that contained biscuit cookie crumbles (a different brand from the first). I had a reaction once again. I was then able to rule a few more ingredients off the suspect list.

4.      Pattern Recognition

Obviously, it is hard to keep a detailed Food Journal when eating outside so I instead recorded the type of food I ate. If I had a reaction, I would then highlight the food I ate that day. This ultimately led me to notice a pattern which involved crispy / crunchy / flaky baked food, battered food, or fluffy flour foods I had eaten at cafes / bakeries / restaurants.

This then allowed me to focus on the one raising / leavening agent that I had on my suspect list: Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii). Sodium Bicarbonate (E500) was ruled out early on as it formed our Baking Powder at home, which did not induce any reaction.

Foods that may contain Ammonium Bicarbonate (E503ii):

• Croissants
  • I had a reaction to a Croissant Bun at a famous coffee chain. They did not respond to my email, which I did expect, so am unable to verify.
  • I also had a strong reaction after consuming several croissants at a large hotel chain while on holiday.
• Biscuits / Cookies / Wafers, including as used within Chocolates / Ice Creams / Milkshakes / Cakes / Muffins
  • Cookies and Biscuits are probably the most frequent foods that I see listed with E503ii as their raising / leavening agent.
  • Chocolates, Ice Creams, and Milkshakes have flavours that use a famous blue cookie brand, which contains E503ii. I have had reactions to this brand several times.
  • Some Chocolates have flavours that use a famous yellow chocolate chip cookie brand, which contains E503ii. This was the source of one of my first reactions.
  • Many Cakes have cookie/biscuit-bases or cookie/biscuit crumbles. Cheesecakes are common examples, but I have reacted to several different types of cakes, all with some crunchy bits.
  • Muffins may also contain cookie/biscuit crumbles.
• Tiramisu Lady Fingers
  • This was a hidden source of E503ii which I strongly reacted to and is the one item on this list that is NOT crispy / crunchy as the Lady Fingers are soaked as part of the Tiramisu preparation.
• Bread with extra crispy crusts
  • I had a strong reaction to Sourdough Bread from a large local commercial bakery chain that had an extra crispy crust. They too did not respond to my email, so I am unable to verify.
  • I understand that some commercial enterprises mix E503ii into their Sourdough preparation to give the natural yeast a boost to speed up the process.
• Fluffy Bread
  • I have reacted to some Bao Buns, Roti, Paratha, Poori, Curry Puffs, etc.
  • Searching online, some of these flour mixes use E503ii, while many do not specify the raising / leavening agent.
• Waffles
  • I have reacted to some waffles that may have used E503ii within their dough mix.
• Pizza dough
  • I have reacted to several pizza doughs (I love pizza!), especially those from the famous chains.
  • Sourdough pizzas and pizzas using Baking Soda (E500) were fine.
• Crispy Batter, as used in some Fried Chickens / Fried Vegetables / Crispy Potato Wedges / etc.
  • This is by far the trickiest to identify in daily intakes. I have reacted to some batters used in fried foods.
  • Searching online, some of these flour mixes use E503ii, while many do not specify the raising / leavening agent.

Living with the Allergy / Sensitivity:

I generally avoid eating crispy / crunchy / flaky baked food, battered food or fluffy flour foods when eating out. However, I have found – either from speaking to bakers / chef or from self-challenging myself – cafes / bakeries / restaurants / brands that produce these foods using Sourdough or Sodium Bicarbonate (E500). I am now able to still enjoy the foods I like but from sources that do not cause me harm.

Identifying the trigger of my allergy / sensitivity was life-changing for me, and a Food Journal was a huge help in my journey. I hope this information helps anyone else who happens to be in a similar situation and allows you to still enjoy the food you like!