Geometry.

A torus can be defined parametrically by:  where  An implicit equation in Cartesian coordinates for a torus radially symmetric about the -axis is  or the solution of, where  Algebraically eliminating the square root gives a quartic equation,  The three classes of standard tori correspond to the three possible aspect ratios between and :  When, the interior of this torus is diffeomorphic (and, hence, homeomorphic) to a product of a Euclidean open disk and a circle. The volume of this solid torus and the surface area of its torus are easily computed using Pappus's centroid theorem, giving:  These formulas are the same as for a cylinder of length and radius, obtained from cutting the tube along the plane of a small circle, and unrolling it by straightening out (rectifying) the line running around the center of the tube. The losses in surface area and volume on the inner side of the tube exactly cancel out the gains on the outer side.  Expressing the surface area and the volume by the distance of an outermost point on the surface of the torus to the center, and the distance of an innermost point (so that and ), yields  As a torus is the product of two circles, a modified version of the spherical coordinate system is sometimes used. In traditional spherical coordinates there are three measures,, the distance from the center of the coordinate system, and and, angles measured from the center point.  As a torus has, effectively, two center points, the centerpoints of the angles are moved; measures the same angle as it does in the spherical system, but is known as the "toroidal" direction. The center point of is moved to the center of, and is known as the "poloidal" direction. These terms were first used in a discussion of the Earth's magnetic field, where "poloidal" was used to denote "the direction toward the poles".  In modern use, toroidal and poloidal are more commonly used to discuss magnetic confinement fusion devices.

Topology.

Topologically, a torus is a closed surface defined as the product of two circles: "S" × "S". This can be viewed as lying in C and is a subset of the 3-sphere "S" of radius. This topological torus is also often called the Clifford torus. In fact, "S" is filled out by a family of nested tori in this manner (with two degenerate circles), a fact which is important in the study of "S" as a fiber bundle over "S" (the Hopf bundle).  The surface described above, given the relative topology from R, is homeomorphic to a topological torus as long as it does not intersect its own axis. A particular homeomorphism is given by stereographically projecting the topological torus into R from the north pole of "S".  The torus can also be described as a quotient of the Cartesian plane under the identifications  or, equivalently, as the quotient of the unit square by pasting the opposite edges together, described as a fundamental polygon "ABA""B". The fundamental group of the torus is just the direct product of the fundamental group of the circle with itself:  Intuitively speaking, this means that a closed path that circles the torus' "hole" (say, a circle that traces out a particular latitude) and then circles the torus' "body" (say, a circle that traces out a particular longitude) can be deformed to a path that circles the body and then the hole. So, strictly 'latitudinal' and strictly 'longitudinal' paths commute. An equivalent statement may be imagined as two shoelaces passing through each other, then unwinding, then rewinding.  If a torus is punctured and turned inside out then another torus results, with lines of latitude and longitude interchanged. This is equivalent to building a torus from a cylinder, by joining the circular ends together, in two ways: around the outside like joining two ends of a garden hose, or through the inside like rolling a sock (with the toe cut off). Additionally, if the cylinder was made by gluing two opposite sides of a rectangle together, choosing the other two sides instead will cause the same reversal of orientation.  The first homology group of the torus is isomorphic to the fundamental group (this follows from Hurewicz theorem since the fundamental group is abelian).

Two-sheeted cover.

The 2-torus double-covers the 2-sphere, with four ramification points. Every conformal structure on the 2-torus can be represented as a two-sheeted cover of the 2-sphere. The points on the torus corresponding to the ramification points are the Weierstrass points. In fact, the conformal type of the torus is determined by the cross-ratio of the four points.

"n"-dimensional torus.

The torus has a generalization to higher dimensions, the "n-dimensional torus", often called the "n-torus" or "hypertorus" for short. (This is one of two meanings of the term ""n"-torus".) Recalling that the torus is the product space of two circles, the "n"-dimensional torus is the product of "n" circles. That is:  The 1-torus is just the circle: T = "S". The torus discussed above is the 2-torus, T. And similar to the 2-torus, the "n"-torus, T can be described as a quotient of R under integral shifts in any coordinate. That is, the "n"-torus is R modulo the action of the integer lattice Z (with the action being taken as vector addition). Equivalently, the "n"-torus is obtained from the "n"-dimensional hypercube by gluing the opposite faces together.  An "n"-torus in this sense is an example of an "n-"dimensional compact manifold. It is also an example of a compact abelian Lie group. This follows from the fact that the unit circle is a compact abelian Lie group (when identified with the unit complex numbers with multiplication). Group multiplication on the torus is then defined by coordinate-wise multiplication.  Toroidal groups play an important part in the theory of compact Lie groups. This is due in part to the fact that in any compact Lie group "G" one can always find a maximal torus; that is, a closed subgroup which is a torus of the largest possible dimension. Such maximal tori "T" have a controlling role to play in theory of connected "G". Toroidal groups are examples of protori, which (like tori) are compact connected abelian groups, which are not required to be manifolds.  Automorphisms of "T" are easily constructed from automorphisms of the lattice Z, which are classified by invertible integral matrices of size "n" with an integral inverse; these are just the integral matrices with determinant ±1. Making them act on R in the usual way, one has the typical "toral automorphism" on the quotient.  The fundamental group of an "n"-torus is a free abelian group of rank "n". The "k"-th homology group of an "n"-torus is a free abelian group of rank "n" choose "k". It follows that the Euler characteristic of the "n"-torus is 0 for all "n". The cohomology ring "H"(T, Z) can be identified with the exterior algebra over the Z-module Z whose generators are the duals of the "n" nontrivial cycles.

Configuration space.

As the "n"-torus is the "n"-fold product of the circle, the "n"-torus is the configuration space of "n" ordered, not necessarily distinct points on the circle. Symbolically, T = ("S"). The configuration space of "unordered", not necessarily distinct points is accordingly the orbifold T/"S", which is the quotient of the torus by the symmetric group on "n" letters (by permuting the coordinates).  For "n" = 2, the quotient is the Möbius strip, the edge corresponding to the orbifold points where the two coordinates coincide. For "n" = 3 this quotient may be described as a solid torus with cross-section an equilateral triangle, with a twist; equivalently, as a triangular prism whose top and bottom faces are connected with a 1/3 twist (120°): the 3-dimensional interior corresponds to the points on the 3-torus where all 3 coordinates are distinct, the 2-dimensional face corresponds to points with 2 coordinates equal and the 3rd different, while the 1-dimensional edge corresponds to points with all 3 coordinates identical.  These orbifolds have found significant applications to music theory in the work of Dmitri Tymoczko and collaborators (Felipe Posada, Michael Kolinas, et al.), being used to model musical triads.

Flat torus.

The flat torus is a torus with the metric inherited from its representation as the quotient, R/L, where L is a discrete subgroup of R isomorphic to Z. This gives the quotient the structure of a Riemannian manifold. Perhaps the simplest example of this is when : R/Z, which can also be described as the Cartesian plane under the identifications. This particular flat torus (and any uniformly scaled version of it) is known as the "square" flat torus.  This metric of the square flat torus can also be realised by specific embeddings of the familiar 2-torus into Euclidean 4-space or higher dimensions. Its surface has zero Gaussian curvature everywhere. Its surface is "flat" in the same sense that the surface of a cylinder is "flat". In 3 dimensions one can bend a flat sheet of paper into a cylinder without stretching the paper, but you cannot then bend this cylinder into a torus without stretching the paper (unless you give up some regularity and differentiability conditions, see below).  A simple 4-dimensional Euclidean embedding of a rectangular flat torus (more general than the square one) is as follows:  where "R" and "P" are constants determining the aspect ratio. It is diffeomorphic to a regular torus but not isometric. It can not be analytically embedded (smooth of class ) into Euclidean 3-space. Mapping it into "3"-space requires you to stretch it, in which case it looks like a regular torus, for example, the following map  If "R" and "P" in the above flat torus form a unit vector then "u", "v", and "η" can be used to parameterize the unit 3-sphere in a parameterization associated with the Hopf map. In particular, for certain very specific choices of a square flat torus in the 3-sphere "S", where above, the torus will partition the 3-sphere into two congruent solid tori subsets with the aforesaid flat torus surface as their common boundary. One example is the torus T defined by  Other tori in "S" having this partitioning property include the square tori of the form "Q"⋅T, where "Q" is a rotation of 4-dimensional space R, or in other words "Q" is a member of the Lie group SO(4).  It is known that there exists no "C" (twice continuously differentiable) embedding of a flat torus into 3-space. (The idea of the proof is to take a large sphere containing such a flat torus in its interior, and shrink the radius of the sphere until it just touches the torus for the first time. Such a point of contact must be a tangency. But that would imply that part of the torus, since it has zero curvature everywhere, must lie strictly outside the sphere, which is a contradiction.) On the other hand, according to the Nash-Kuiper theorem, proven in the 1950s, an isometric "C" embedding exists. This is solely an existence proof, and does not provide explicit equations for such an embedding.  In April 2012, an explicit "C" (continuously differentiable) embedding of a flat torus into 3-dimensional Euclidean space R was found. It is similar in structure to a fractal as it is constructed by repeatedly corrugating an ordinary torus. Like fractals, it has no defined Gaussian curvature. However, unlike fractals, it does have defined surface normals. It "is" a flat torus in the sense that as metric spaces, it is isometric to a flat square torus. (These infinitely recursive corrugations are used only for embedding into three dimensions; they are not an intrinsic feature of the flat torus.) This is the first time that any such embedding was defined by explicit equations, or depicted by computer graphics.

Genus "g" surface.

In the theory of surfaces there is another object, the "genus" "g" surface. Instead of the product of "n" circles, a genus "g" surface is the connected sum of "g" two-tori. To form a connected sum of two surfaces, remove from each the interior of a disk and "glue" the surfaces together along the boundary circles. To form the connected sum of more than two surfaces, sum two of them at a time until they are all connected. In this sense, a genus "g" surface resembles the surface of "g" doughnuts stuck together side by side, or a 2-sphere with "g" handles attached.  As examples, a genus zero surface (without boundary) is the two-sphere while a genus one surface (without boundary) is the ordinary torus. The surfaces of higher genus are sometimes called "n"-holed tori (or, rarely, "n"-fold tori). The terms double torus and triple torus are also occasionally used.  The classification theorem for surfaces states that every compact connected surface is topologically equivalent to either the sphere or the connect sum of some number of tori, disks, and real projective planes.

Toroidal polyhedra.

Polyhedra with the topological type of a torus are called toroidal polyhedra, and have Euler characteristic "V" − "E" + "F" = 0. For any number of holes, the formula generalizes to "V" − "E" + "F" = 2 − 2"N", where "N" is the number of holes.  The term "toroidal polyhedron" is also used for higher-genus polyhedra and for immersions of toroidal polyhedra.

Automorphisms.

The homeomorphism group (or the subgroup of diffeomorphisms) of the torus is studied in geometric topology. Its mapping class group ( the connected components of the homeomorphism group) is isomorphic to the group GL("n", Z) of invertible integer matrices, and can be realized as linear maps on the universal covering space R that preserve the standard lattice Z (this corresponds to integer coefficients) and thus descend to the quotient.  At the level of homotopy and homology, the mapping class group can be identified as the action on the first homology (or equivalently, first cohomology, or on the fundamental group, as these are all naturally isomorphic; also the first cohomology group generates the cohomology algebra:  Since the torus is an Eilenberg–MacLane space "K"("G", 1), its homotopy equivalences, up to homotopy, can be identified with automorphisms of the fundamental group); that this agrees with the mapping class group reflects that all homotopy equivalences can be realized by homeomorphisms – every homotopy equivalence is homotopic to a homeomorphism – and that homotopic homeomorphisms are in fact isotopic (connected through homeomorphisms, not just through homotopy equivalences). More tersely, the map Homeo(T) → SHE(T) is 1-connected (isomorphic on path-components, onto fundamental group). This is a "homeomorphism reduces to homotopy reduces to algebra" result.  Thus the short exact sequence of the mapping class group splits (an identification of the torus as the quotient of R gives a splitting, via the linear maps, as above): so the homeomorphism group of the torus is a semidirect product,  The mapping class group of higher genus surfaces is much more complicated, and an area of active research.

Coloring a torus.

The torus's Heawood number is seven, meaning every graph that can be embedded on the torus has a chromatic number of at most seven. (Since the complete graph formula_17 can be embedded on the torus, and formula_18, the upper bound is tight.) Equivalently, in a torus divided into regions, it is always possible to color the regions using no more than seven colors so that no neighboring regions are the same color. (Contrast with the four color theorem for the plane.)

Cutting a torus.

A solid torus of revolution can be cut by "n" (> 0) planes into maximally parts.  The first 11 numbers of parts, for 0 ≤ "n" ≤ 10 (including the case of "n" = 0, not covered by the above formulas), are as follows:

In geometry, a torus (plural tori) is a surface of revolution generated by revolving a circle in three-dimensional space about an axis that is coplanar with the circle.

Ein Torus (Plural "Tori;" von hier im Sinne von „Wulst“) ist ein mathematisches Objekt aus der Geometrie und der Topologie. Er ist eine „wulstartig“ geformte Fläche mit einem „Loch“, hat also die Gestalt eines Tennisrings, auch Rettungsrings, Reifens oder Donuts.


History.

Although the exact beginnings of corned beef are unknown, it most likely came about when people began preserving meat through salt-curing. Evidence of its legacy is apparent in numerous cultures, including ancient Europe and the Middle East. The word "corn" derives from Old English and is used to describe any small, hard particles or grains. In the case of "corned beef", the word may refer to the coarse, granular salts used to cure the beef. The word "corned" may also refer to the corns of potassium nitrate, also known as saltpeter, which were formerly used to preserve the meat.

19th-century Atlantic trade.

Although the practice of curing beef was found locally in many cultures, the industrial production of corned beef started in the British Industrial Revolution. Irish corned beef was used and traded extensively from the 17th century to the mid-19th century for British civilian consumption and as provisions for the British naval fleets and North American armies due to its nonperishable nature. The product was also traded to the French for use in Caribbean sugar plantations as sustenance for the colonists and the slave laborers. The 17th-century British industrial processes for corned beef did not distinguish between different cuts of beef beyond the tough and undesirable parts such as the beef necks and shanks. Rather, the grading was done by the weight of the cattle into "small beef", "cargo beef", and "best mess beef", the former being the worst and the latter the best. Much of the undesirable portions and lower grades were traded to the French, while better parts were saved for British consumption or shipped to British colonies. Ireland produced a significant amount of the corned beef in the Atlantic trade from local cattle and salt imported from the Iberian Peninsula and southwestern France. Coastal cities, such as Dublin, Belfast, and Cork, created vast beef curing and packing industries, with Cork producing half of Ireland's annual beef exports in 1668. Although the production and trade of corned beef as a commodity was a source of great wealth for the colonial nations of Britain and France (which were participating in the Atlantic slave trade), in the colonies themselves, the product was looked upon with disdain due to its association with poverty and slavery.  Increasing corned beef production to satisfy the rising populations of the industrialised areas of Great Britain and Atlantic trade worsened the effects of the Irish Famine and the Great Potato Famine: Despite being a major producer of beef, most of the people of Ireland during this period consumed little of the meat produced, in either fresh or salted form, due to its prohibitive cost. This was because most of the farms and its produce were owned by wealthy Anglo-Irish who were absentee landlords and that most of the population were from families of poor tenant farmers, and that most of the corned beef was exported.  The lack of beef or corned beef in the Irish diet is especially true in the north of Ireland and areas away from the major centres for corned beef production. However, individuals living in these production centres such as Cork did consume the product to a certain extent. The majority of Irish who resided in Ireland at the time mainly consumed dairy products and meats such as pork or salt pork, bacon and cabbage being a notable example of a traditional Irish snack.

20th century to present.

Corned beef became a less important commodity in 19th-century Atlantic trade, due in part to the abolition of slavery, but corned beef production and its canned form remained an important food source during the Second World War. Much of the canned corned beef came from Fray Bentos in Uruguay, with over 16 million cans exported in 1943. Even now, significant amounts of the global canned corned beef supply comes from South America. Today, around 80% of the global canned corned beef supply originates from Brazil.

Cultural associations.

In North America, corned beef dishes are associated with traditional Irish cuisine. However, considerable debate remains about the association of corned beef with Ireland. Mark Kurlansky, in his book "Salt", states that the Irish produced a salted beef around the Middle Ages that was the "forerunner of what today is known as Irish corned beef" and in the 17th century, the English named the Irish salted beef "corned beef".  Some say until the wave of 19th-century Irish immigration to the United States, many of the ethnic Irish had not begun to consume corned beef dishes as seen today. The popularity of corned beef compared to bacon among the immigrant Irish may have been due to corned beef being considered a luxury product in their native land, while it was cheaply and readily available in America.  The Jewish population produced similar salt-cured meat from beef brisket. Irish immigrants often purchased it as corned beef from Jewish butchers. This exchange was an example of the close interactions in everyday life of people from these two cultures in the United States' main 19th- and 20th-century immigrant port of entry, New York City.  Canned corned beef has long been one of the standard meals included in military field ration packs around the world, due to its simplicity and instant preparation in such rations. One example is the American Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) pack. Astronaut John Young snuck a contraband corned beef sandwich on board Gemini 3, hiding it in a pocket of his spacesuit.

Regions.

North America.

In the United States and Canada, corned beef typically comes in two forms: a cut of beef (usually brisket, but sometimes round or silverside) cured or pickled in a seasoned brine; or cooked and canned.  Corned beef is often purchased ready to eat in delicatessens. It is the key ingredient in the grilled Reuben sandwich, consisting of corned beef, Swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island or Russian dressing on rye bread. Smoking corned beef, typically with a generally similar spice mix, produces smoked meat (or "smoked beef") such as pastrami or Montreal-style smoked meat.  Corned beef hash with potatoes is commonly served with eggs for breakfast.  In both the United States and Canada, corned beef is sold in cans in minced form. It is also sold this way in Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

Newfoundland and Labrador.

Corned beef is known specifically as "salt beef" in Newfoundland and Labrador, and is sold in buckets with brine to preserve the beef. It is a staple product culturally in Newfoundland and Labrador, providing a source of meat throughout their long winters. It is still commonly eaten in Newfoundland and Labrador, most often associated with the local Jiggs dinner meal. It has as of recent years been used in different meals locally, such as a Jiggs Dinner poutine dish.

Saint Patrick's Day.

In the United States, consumption of corned beef is often associated with Saint Patrick's Day. Corned beef is not considered an Irish national dish, and the connection with Saint Patrick's Day specifically originates as part of Irish-American culture, and is often part of their celebrations in North America.  Corned beef was used as a substitute for bacon by Irish immigrants in the late 19th century. Corned beef and cabbage is the Irish-American variant of the Irish dish of bacon and cabbage. A similar dish is the New England boiled dinner, consisting of corned beef, cabbage, and root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, and potatoes, which is popular in New England and another similar dish, Jiggs dinner, is popular in parts of Atlantic Canada.

United Kingdom.

The U.S. version of corned beef is known in the UK as salt beef.

Ireland.

The appearance of corned beef in Irish cuisine dates to the 12th century in the poem "Aislinge Meic Con Glinne" or "The Vision of MacConglinne". Within the text, it is described as a delicacy a king uses to purge himself of the "demon of gluttony". Cattle, valued as a bartering tool, were only eaten when no longer able to provide milk or to work. The corned beef as described in this text was a rare and valued dish, given the value and position of cattle within the culture, as well as the expense of salt, and was unrelated to the corned beef eaten today.

Caribbean.

Multiple Caribbean nations have their own varied versions of canned corned beef as a dish, common in Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Barbados, and elsewhere. With cans being less perishable, it's an effective food to import to tropical islands that will keep, despite the heat and humidity. Corned beef is a cheap, quick, and familiar low-effort comfort food that might be prepared for any meal of the day. As with other cuisines, cooks often improvise to add extra flavouring components (usually what they have around or left over) to their corned beef, including: onions, garlic, ketchup, black pepper, salt, oil (or other fat), corn, potatoes, tomatoes, cabbage, carrots, beans, hot and/or bell peppers, etc. It's very often served with a starch, such as rice, roti, bread, or potatoes. Due to its simplicity, many Caribbean children grow up thinking fondly of this dish.

Israel.

In Israel, a canned corned beef called "Loof" was the traditional field ration of the Israel Defense Forces until the product's discontinuation in 2011. The name "Loof" derives from "a colloquially corrupt short form of'meatloaf.'" "Loof" was developed by the IDF in the late 1940s as a kosher form of bully beef, while similar canned meats had earlier been an important component of relief packages sent to Europe and Palestine by Jewish organizations such as Hadassah.

New Zealand.

In New Zealand, both the canned and fresh varieties are referred to as corned beef; fresh corned beef is almost always made with silverside;'silverside' and 'corned beef' are often used interchangeably. Canned corned beef is especially popular among New Zealand's Polynesian community, as in pacific island nations such as Western Samoa and Tonga.

Hong Kong.

Corned beef has also become a common dish in Hong Kong cuisine, though it has been heavily adapted in style and preparation to fit local tastes. It is often served with other 'Western' fusion cuisine at cha chaan teng and other cheap restaurants catering to locals. Like most localized 'Western' food in East Asia, trade, imperialism, and war played roles in bringing and popularizing corned beef in Hong Kong.

Philippines.

In the Philippines, corned beef is typically made from shredded beef or buffalo meat, and is almost exclusively sold in cans. It is boiled, shredded, canned, and sold in supermarkets and grocery stores for mass consumption. It is usually served fried, mixed with onions and garlic, with a side of "Sinangag" (garlic fried rice), and a fried egg. Along with other canned meats, canned corned beef is a popular breakfast staple in the Philippines. As such, meat processing companies such as CDO Foodsphere and San Miguel Food and Beverage all exist to cater to the high demand.  "Carne norte" (alternative spelling: "karne norte") is another term that is used to describe Philippine corned beef. Literally translating to "Northern meat" in Spanish, the term is ideally applied to any corned beef recipe that comes from places such as Ilocos Norte and La Union, or any other province situated in the Northern part of Luzon, a main island in the Northern part of the country. Nowadays, little distinction can be made between c"arne norte" and typical canned corned beef that can be bought in many supermarkets. In recent times, it has mostly been used as a marketing tool by canned corned beef brands, either to highlight their company's "authentic" Northern roots or help their product stand out from the plethora of other brands that produce corned beef.

Corned beef is salt-cured brisket of beef. The term comes from the treatment of the meat with large-grained rock salt, also called "corns" of salt. Sometimes, sugar and spices are also added to corned beef recipes. Corned beef is featured as an ingredient in many cuisines.

Corned Beef (englisch für „gepökeltes Rindfleisch“) ist zerkleinertes, gepökeltes, im eigenen Saft gekochtes Rindfleisch. Durch den Kochsaft geliert es zu einem schnittfesten Block. Verwendet wird langfaseriges Muskelfleisch wie z. B. Rinderbrust. Corned Beef wird vor allem in Argentinien und Brasilien hergestellt.


Geography.

Lake Maggiore is long, and wide, except at the bay opening westward between Pallanza and Stresa, where it is wide. It is the longest Italian lake, although Lake Garda has a greater area. Its mean height above the sea level is 193 metres; a deep lake, its bottom is almost everywhere below sea-level: at its deepest, 179 metres below. Its form is very sinuous so that there are few points from which any considerable part of its surface can be seen at a single glance. If this lessens the effect of the apparent size, it increases the variety of its scenery. While the upper end is completely alpine in character, the middle region lies between hills of gentler form, and the lower end advances to the verge of the plain of Lombardy. Lake Maggiore is the most westerly of the three great southern prealpine lakes, the others being Lake Como and Lake Garda. The lake basin has tectonic-glacial origins and its volume is. The lake has a surface area of about, a maximum length of (on a straight line) and, at its widest, is. Its main tributaries are the Ticino, the Maggia, the Toce (by which it receives the outflow of Lake Orta) and the Tresa (which is the sole emissary of Lake Lugano). The rivers Verzasca, Giona, and Cannobino also flow into the lake. Its outlet is the Ticino which, in turn, joins the river Po just south-east of Pavia.  The lake’s jagged banks are surrounded by the Pennine and Lepontine Alps, and Lugano Prealps. Prominent peaks around the lake are the Gridone, Monte Tamaro, Monte Nudo and the Mottarone. The highest mountain overlooking Lake Maggiore is Monte Rosa (), located about west of it. The western bank is in Piedmont (provinces of Novara and Province of Verbano-Cusio-Ossola) and the eastern in Lombardy (province of Varese), whereas the most northerly section extends into the canton of Ticino, where it constitutes its lowest point above sea level as well as that of Switzerland. The culminating point of the lake's drainage basin is the Grenzgipfel summit of Monte Rosa at above sea level.

Climate.

Lake Maggiore weather is humid subtropical ("Cfa" in the Köppen climate classification). During winter, the lake helps to maintain a higher temperature in the surrounding region (since water releases heat energy more slowly than air). The temperatures are cooled down in summer by the breezes that blow on the water's surface changing its colour. The area enjoys nearly 2300 hours of sunshine a year and an average annual temperature of. The water of the lake has a comfortable temperature of to in July and August. In winter snowfall is erratic and primarily affects the higher elevations. Rainfall is heaviest in May and lowest during the winter months.

Sacro Monte di Ghiffa.

The Sacred Mountain of Ghiffa is a Roman Catholic devotional complex in the "comune" of Ghiffa, (Piedmont, northern Italy), overlooking the Lake Maggiore. It is one of the nine Sacri Monti of Piedmont and Lombardy, included in UNESCO World Heritage list.

Events.

The Spirit of Woodstock Festival is an annual open air festival at the end of July/beginning of August. It is organized in Armeno by the Mirapuri community.

History.

The first archaeological findings around the lake belong to nomadic people living in the area in prehistoric types. The first settlements discovered date from the Copper Age. The area was later under the control of the Ligures, later replaced by the Celts. The latter was in turn conquered by the Romans, who called the lake "Verbanus Lacus" or "Lacus Maximus".  After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the lake was under different dominations. Most of the current settlements originated in the Middle Ages when the lake was under the Della Torre, Visconti, the Borromeo and Habsburg families.  Methane was first discovered and isolated by Alessandro Volta as he analysed marsh gas from Lake Maggiore, between 1776 and 1778.  In 1936, a Bugatti Type 22 Brescia Roadster, built 1925, was sunk in the lake by employees of Zürich architect Marco Schmucklerski, when Swiss customs officials investigated whether he had paid taxes on the car. The Bugatti was attached to an iron chain making it possible to recover it once the investigation was over, yet that never happened. When the chain corroded, the car sunk to the lake bed, where it was rediscovered on 18 August 1967 by local diver Ugo Pillon and became a favourite target for divers thereafter. When one of the divers, Damiano Tamagni, was killed in a hold-up on 1 February 2008, his friends from the Ascona divers' club decided to lift and sell the car wreck to raise funds for a yet to be created foundation named after the victim. The remains of the Bugatti were recovered on 12 July 2009. The sale took place at the Retro Mobile classic car exhibition in Paris on 23 January 2010. It was sold for €260,500.

The Hotel Meina incident at Lake Maggiore.

This incident is part of the Lake Maggiore massacres during WWII. Meina is a municipality located 77 kilometres (48 miles) northwest of Milan, on the southern shores of Lake Maggiore. The Hotel Meina was located north of the town of Meina and was owned by Alberto and Eugenia Behar, Sephardic Jews who had moved to Italy from Constantinople. On September 1943, an armistice was declared between Italy and the Allies. At that time, the Hotel Meina housed a number of Jewish guests, most of them escapees of the Nazi occupation of Greece. The area around Lake Maggiore was not under Allied control but was occupied by the German Waffen-SS, specifically the infamous "Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler". Captain Hans Krüger, who directed operations in Meina and the surrounding villages, was in charge of locating the Jews in that area and was responsible for the Lake Maggiore massacres in which approximately 54 Jews were murdered.  On the night of 22 September 1943, most of the Jewish residents of the Hotel Meina were executed and their bodies were thrown into Lake Maggiore. The Fernandez-Diaz family, a family of Greek Sephardic Jews from Thessaloniki, barricaded themselves in one of the fourth-floor hotel rooms. It took an extra day for the Germans to reach and execute them. The family included three young children whose lives were not spared despite pleas from older family members. Among those killed were Dino Fernandez-Diaz (76 years old), Pierre Fernandez-Diaz (46), Liliane (Scialom) Fernandez-Diaz (36), Jean Fernandez-Diaz (17), Robert Fernandez-Diaz (13), Blanchette Fernandez-Diaz (12), Marco Mosseri (55), Ester Botton (52), Giacomo Renato Mosseri (22), Odette Uziel (19), Raoul Torres (48), Valerie Nahoum Torres (49), and Daniele Modiano (51). In total, sixteen Jewish residents of the hotel were executed. Its owners, the Behar family, survived due to the efforts of the Turkish consulate.  The Italian police report on the Meina massacre was lost but resurfaced in 1994, along with hundreds of other files of war crimes committed post-armistice by Germans who still occupied or were retreating from Italian soil. These files had been hidden in a wooden cabinet, the so-called "cabinet of shame", discovered in a storeroom of the military prosecutor's headquarters.  Germany does not extradite its citizens convicted of war crimes in other countries. Those responsible for the Meina massacre were tried at home in Germany in 1968, convicted and sentenced to life in prison. However, in 1970, the German Supreme Court declared the statute of limitations for those particular war crimes to have expired, and the prisoners were released.

References in literature and popular culture.

Lake Maggiore is featured in American writer Ernest Hemingway's novel "A Farewell To Arms". The protagonist (Frederic Henry) and his lover (Catherine Barkley) are forced to cross the transnational border within the lake in a rowing boat to escape Italian Carabinieri.  It also appeared as the location of a fictional racetrack in the racing game "Gran Turismo Sport".

Lake Maggiore (, ; ; ; ; literally 'Greater Lake') or Verbano (; ) is a large lake located on the south side of the Alps. It is the second largest lake in Italy and the largest in southern Switzerland. The lake and its shoreline are divided between the Italian regions of Piedmont and Lombardy and the Swiss canton of Ticino. Located halfway between Lake Orta and Lake Lugano, Lake Maggiore extends for about between Locarno and Arona.

Der Lago Maggiore, auch "Lago Verbano" (von ), lombardisch "Lagh Maggior,", ist ein in den italienischen Regionen Piemont und Lombardei sowie im Schweizer Kanton Tessin gelegener, von dem gleichnamigen Hauptzu- und -abfluss Tessin durchflossener oberitalienischer See.


Life and work.

Horace Bénédict de Saussure was born 17 February 1740, in Conches, near Geneva ("today in Switzerland but then an independent republic"), and died in Geneva 22 January 1799.  Saussure's family were Genevan patricians. His father, Nicolas de Saussure, was an agriculturist and author. His mother was sickly and so Saussure was brought up by his mother's sister and her husband the Genevan naturalist Charles Bonnet who sparked Horace-Bénédict's early interest in botany. After attending the "Collège" of his hometown, he completed his studies at the Geneva Academy in 1759 with a dissertation on heat ("Dissertatio physica de igne"). In 1760, he made the first of numerous trips to Chamonix Valley, at the foot of Mont Blanc, to collect plant specimens for the noted Swiss anatomist, physiologist and botanist Albrecht von Haller. In 1760, Saussure offered a reward to the first man to reach the summit of Mont Blanc. Inspired by his uncle, the naturalist Charles Bonnet, the young Saussure also did research on the physiology of plants and published "Observations sur l'écorce des feuilles et des pétales" (1762). The same year, at 22, he was elected professor of philosophy at the Academy of Geneva, where he lectured on physics one year, and on logic and metaphysics the next. He taught there until 1786, occasionally also lecturing on geography, geology, chemistry, and even astronomy.  His early interest in botanical studies and glaciers soon led Saussure to undertake other journeys across the Alps. In 1767, he completed his first tour of Mont-Blanc, a trip that did much to reveal the topography of the snowy portions of the Alps of Savoy. He also carried out experiments on heat and cold, on the weight of the atmosphere and on electricity and magnetism. For this, he devised what became one of the first electrometers. Other trips led him to Italy, where he studied Mt. Etna and other volcanoes (1772–73), and to the extinct volcanoes of the Auvergne, in France.  Although a patrician, Saussure held liberal views that induced him to present in 1774 a plan for the development of scientific education in the Geneva College, which would be open to all citizens, but this attempt failed. He was more successful in advocating the creation of the "Société des Arts" (1776), inspired by the London Society for the Improvement of Arts. Beginning in 1774 Saussure sought to reach the summit of Mont-Blanc on the side of Val Veny (now Italy) accompanied by the Courmayeur alpine guide Jean-Laurent Jordaney on the Miage glacier and on Mont Crammont. In 1776 he ascended the Buet (3,096 m). He climbed the Crammont in 1774 and again in 1778, in which year he also explored the Valsorey glacier, near the Great St Bernard. In 1780 he climbed the Roche Michel, above the Mont Cenis Pass. In 1785, he made an unsuccessful attempt on Mont-Blanc by the Aiguille du Goûter route. Two Chamonix men, Michel Paccard and Jacques Balmat, attained the summit in 1786, by way of the Grands Mulets, and in 1787 Saussure himself made the third ascent of the mountain. His achievements did much to attract tourists to places such as Chamonix.  Obsessed by the measurement of meteorological phenomena, Saussure invented and improved many kinds of apparatus, including the magnetometer, the cyanometer for estimating the blueness of the sky, the diaphanometer for judging the clarity of the atmosphere, the anemometer and the mountain eudiometer. Of particular importance was a hair hygrometer that he devised and used for a series of investigations on atmospheric humidity, evaporation, clouds, fogs and rain ("Essais sur l'Hygrométrie", 1783). This instrument sparked a bitter controversy with Jean-André Deluc, who invented a whalebone hygrometer.  In 1788 Saussure spent 17 days making meteorological observations and physical measurements on the Col du Géant (3,371 m).  In 1789 Saussure climbed the Pizzo Bianco near Macugnaga, to observe the east wall of Monte Rosa, and crossed the Theodulpass (3,322 m) to Zermatt, which he was the first traveler to visit. On that occasion he climbed from the pass up the Klein Matterhorn (3,883 m), while in 1792 he spent three days making observations on the same pass without descending to Zermatt and then visited the Theodulhorn (3,472 m).  All of Saussure's observations and experiments from seven Alpine journeys were summed up and published in four quarto volumes, under the general title of "Voyages dans les Alpes (1779 – 1796)" (There was an octavo issue in eight volumes, issued from 1780 to 1796). The non-scientific portions of the work were first published in 1834, and often since, as "Partie pittoresque des ouvrages de M. de Saussure".

Significance.

The Alps were the focus of Saussure's investigations. He saw them as the grand key to the true theory of the earth, and they gave him the opportunity to study geology in a manner never previously attempted. Saussure closely examined the inclination of the strata, the nature of the rocks, the fossils and the minerals.  Saussure had a thorough knowledge of the chemistry of the day and applied it to the study of minerals, water and air. His geological observations made him a firm believer in the Neptunian theory: He regarded all rocks and minerals as deposited from aqueous solution or suspension, and attached much importance to the study of meteorological conditions. His work with rocks, erosion, and fossils also led him to believe that the earth was much older than generally thought and formed part of the basis of Darwin's Theory of Evolution.  Saussure carried barometers and boiling-point thermometers to the summits of the highest mountains, and estimated the relative humidity of the atmosphere at different heights, its temperature, the strength of solar radiation, the composition of air and its transparency. Then, he investigated the temperature of the earth at all depths to which he could drive his thermometer staves, and the course, conditions and temperature of streams, rivers, glaciers and lakes, even of the sea.  Saussure adapted the thermometer to many purposes: for ascertaining the temperature of the air he used one with a fine bulb hung in the shade or whirled by a string, the latter form being converted into an evaporimeter by inserting its bulb into a piece of wet sponge and making it revolve in a circle of known radius, at a known rate; for experiments on the earth and in deep water he employed large thermometers wrapped in non-conducting coatings so as to render them extremely sluggish, and capable of long retaining the temperature once they had attained it.  With these instruments Saussure showed that the bottom water of deep lakes is uniformly cold at all seasons, and that seasonal changes in temperature take six months to penetrate to a depth of 30 ft. in the earth. He recognized the immense advantages to meteorology of high-level observation stations, and whenever it was practicable he arranged for simultaneous observations to be made at different altitudes for as long periods as possible.  Saussure was particularly influential as a geologist, and although his ideas on the underlying principles were often erroneous, he was instrumental in greatly advancing that science. He was an early user of the term "geology"—see the "Discours préliminaire" to volume I of his "Voyages", published in 1779—though by no means its inventor as some have claimed, the English word having been used in the 1680s and its Latin counterpart "geologia" during the previous several centuries.  In 1767, Saussure constructed the first known Western solar oven, trying several designs before determining that a well-insulated box with three layers of glass to trap outgoing thermal radiation produced the most heat. The highest temperature he reached was, which he found did not vary significantly when the box was carried from the top of Mt. Crammont in the Swiss Alps down to the Plains of Cournier, 4,852 feet lower in altitude and warmer in temperature, thereby establishing that the external air temperature played no significant role in this solar heating effect.  In 1784, Saussure was elected a foreign member of the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences; in 1788, a foreign member of the Royal Society of London; in 1791, an associate foreign member of l'Académie des sciences de Paris.  Saussure died in 1799 in Geneva.

Recognition.

The genus of plants "Saussurea", some adapted to growing in extreme high-alpine climates, is named after him and his plant-physiologist son Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure. The Alpine Botanical Garden Saussurea, located at Pavillon du Mont Fréty, first station for the Skyway Monte Bianco cable car, in Courmayeur, Aosta Valley, is named after it.  His work as a mineralogist was also recognized. Saussurite is named after him. The lunar crater Saussure is also named after him.  Saussure was honoured by being depicted on the 20 Swiss franc banknote of the sixth issue of Swiss National Bank notes (1979 to 1995, when replaced by the eighth issue; the notes were recalled in 2000 and will become valueless on 1 May 2020).  Saussure's son Nicolas-Théodore de Saussure was a noted specialist in plant chemistry and an early pioneer in photosynthesis research.  His daughter Albertine Necker de Saussure was a pioneer in the education of women.  His great-grandson Ferdinand de Saussure was an important linguist and semiotician.

Trivia.

In his "On the Fourfold Root of the Principle of Sufficient Reason", whilst discussing how reason affects our perception of distance, Arthur Schopenhauer includes an anecdote that Saussure, "when on the Mont Blanc... saw so enormous a moon rise, that, not recognizing what it was, he fainted with terror".

Horace Bénédict de Saussure (17 February 1740 – 22 January 1799) was a Genevan geologist, meteorologist, physicist, mountaineer and Alpine explorer, often called the founder of alpinism and modern meteorology, and considered to be the first person to build a successful solar oven.

Horace Bénédict de Saussure (* 17. Februar 1740 in Conches; † 22. Januar 1799 ebenda) war ein Genfer Naturforscher. Sein offizielles botanisches Autorenkürzel lautet „“ Er ist der Vater von Nicolas Théodore de Saussure, Großvater von Henri de Saussure und Urgroßvater des Sprachwissenschaftlers Ferdinand de Saussure.


Etymology.

The name means "originating from Hesperos" (evening). "Hesperos", or "Vesper" in Latin, is the origin of the name Hesperus, the evening star (i.e. the planet Venus) as well as having a shared root with the English word "west".

Mythology.

The nymphs of the evening.

Ordinarily, the Hesperides number three, like the other Greek triads (the Three Graces and the Moirai). ""Since the Hesperides themselves are mere symbols of the gifts the apples embody, they cannot be actors in a human drama. Their abstract, interchangeable names are a symptom of their impersonality,"" Evelyn Harrison has observed.  They are sometimes portrayed as the evening daughters of Night (Nyx) either alone, or with Darkness (Erebus), in accord with the way Eos in the farthermost east, in Colchis, is the daughter of the titan Hyperion. The Hesperides are also listed as the daughters of Atlas, and Hesperis or of Phorcys and Ceto or of Zeus and Themis. In another source, the nymphs are said to be the daughters of Hesperus. Nevertheless, among the names given to them, though never all at once, there were either three, four, or seven Hesperides. Apollonius of Rhodes gives the number of three with their names as Aigle, Erytheis and Hespere (or Hespera). Hyginus in his preface to the "Fabulae" names them as Aegle, Hesperie and *aerica. In another source, they are named Ægle, Arethusa and Hesperethusa, the three daughters of Hesperus. Hesiod says that these "clear-voiced Hesperides", daughters of Night, guarded the golden apples beyond Ocean in the far west of the world, gives the number of the Hesperides as four, and their names as: Aigle (or Aegle, "dazzling light"), Erytheia (or Erytheis), Hesperia ("sunset glow") whose name refers to the colour of the setting sun: red, yellow, or gold and lastly Arethusa. In addition, Hesperia and Arethusa, the so-called "ox-eyed Hesperethusa". Pseudo-Apollodorus gives the number of the Hesperides also as four, namely: Aigle, Erytheia, Hesperia (or Hesperie) and Arethusa while Fulgentius named them as Aegle, Hesperie, Medusa and Arethusa. However, the historiographer Diodorus in his account stated that they are seven in number with no information of their names. An ancient vase painting attests the following names as four: Asterope, Chrysothemis, Hygieia and Lipara; on another seven names as Aiopis, Antheia, Donakis, Kalypso, Mermesa, Nelisa and Tara. A Pyxis has Hippolyte, Mapsaura, and Thetis. Petrus Apianus attributed to these stars a mythical connection of their own. He believed that they were the seven Hesperides, nymph daughters of Atlas and Hesperis. Their names were: Aegle, Erythea, Arethusa, Hestia, Hespera, Hesperusa and Hespereia. A certain Crete, possible eponym of the island of Crete, was also called one of the Hesperides.  They are sometimes called the Western Maidens, the Daughters of Evening or "Erythrai", and the "Sunset Goddesses", designations all apparently tied to their imagined location in the distant west. Hesperis is appropriately the personification of the evening (as Eos is of the dawn) and the Evening Star is Hesperus.  In addition to their tending of the garden, they have taken great pleasure in singing. Euripides calls them "minstrel maids" as they possess the power of sweet song. The Hesperides could be hamadryad nymphs or epimeliads as suggested by a passage in which they change into trees: ""..Hespere became a poplar and Eretheis an elm, and Aegle a willow's sacred trunk.."" and in the same account, they are described figuratively or literally to have white arms and golden heads.  Erytheia ("the red one") is one of the Hesperides. The name was applied to an island close to the coast of southern Hispania, which was the site of the original Punic colony of Gades (modern Cadiz). Pliny's Natural History (VI.36) records of the island of Gades: ""On the side which looks towards Spain, at about 100 paces distance, is another long island, three miles wide, on which the original city of Gades stood. By Ephorus and Philistides it is called Erythia, by Timæus and Silenus Aphrodisias, and by the natives the Isle of Juno."" The island was the seat of Geryon, who was overcome by Heracles.

Land of Hesperides.

The Hesperides tend a blissful garden in a far western corner of the world, located near the Atlas mountains in North Africa at the edge of the encircling Oceanus, the world-ocean.  According to the Sicilian Greek poet Stesichorus, in his poem the "Song of Geryon", and the Greek geographer Strabo, in his book "Geographika" (volume III), the garden of the Hesperides is located in Tartessos, a location placed in the south of the Iberian peninsula.  Euesperides (in modern-day Benghazi) which was probably founded by people from Cyrene or Barca might have mythological associations with the garden of Hesperides.  By Ancient Roman times, the garden of the Hesperides had lost its archaic place in religion and had dwindled to a poetic convention, in which form it was revived in Renaissance poetry, to refer both to the garden and to the nymphs that dwelt there.

The Garden of the Hesperides.

The Garden of the Hesperides is Hera's orchard in the west, where either a single apple tree or a grove grows, producing golden apples. According to the legend, when the marriage of Zeus and Hera took place, the different deities came with nuptial presents for the latter, and among them the goddess of Gaia, with branches having golden apples growing on them as a wedding gift. Hera, greatly admiring these, begged of Gaia to plant them in her gardens, which extended as far as Mount Atlas.  The Hesperides were given the task of tending to the grove, but occasionally picked apples from it themselves. Not trusting them, Hera also placed in the garden an immortal, never-sleeping, hundred-headed dragon named Ladon as an additional safeguard. In the myth of the Judgement of Paris, it was from the Garden that Eris, Goddess of Discord, obtained the Apple of Discord, which led to the Trojan War.  In later years it was thought that the "golden apples" might have actually been oranges, a fruit unknown to Europe and the Mediterranean before the Middle Ages. Under this assumption, the Greek botanical name chosen for all citrus species was "Hesperidoeidē" (Ἑσπεριδοειδῆ, "hesperidoids") and even today the Greek word for the orange fruit is πορτοκάλι (Portokáli)--after the country of Portugal in Iberia near where the Garden of the Hesperides grew.

The Eleventh Labour of Heracles.

After Heracles completed his first ten Labours, Eurystheus gave him two more claiming that neither the Hydra counted (because Iolaus helped Heracles) nor the Augean stables (either because he received payment for the job or because the rivers did the work). The first of these two additional Labours was to steal the apples from the garden of the Hesperides. Heracles first caught the Old Man of the Sea, the shape-shifting sea god, to learn where the Garden of the Hesperides was located. In some versions of the tale, Heracles went to the Caucasus, where Prometheus was confined. The Titan directed him concerning his course through the land of the peoples in the farthest north and the perils to be encountered on his homeward march after slaying Geryon in the farthest west.Follow this straight road; and, first of all, thou shalt come to the Boreades, where do thou beware the roaring hurricane, lest unawares it twist thee up and snatch thee away in wintry whirlwind.As payment, Heracles freed Prometheus from his daily torture. This tale is more usually found in the position of the Erymanthian Boar, since it is associated with Chiron choosing to forgo immortality and taking Prometheus' place.  Other story recounts, Heracles, either at the start or at the end of his task, meets Antaeus, who was immortal as long as he touched his mother, Gaia, the earth. Heracles killed Antaeus by holding him aloft and crushing him in a bearhug. Herodotus claims that Heracles stopped in Egypt, where King Busiris decided to make him the yearly sacrifice, but Heracles burst out of his chains.  Finally making his way to the Garden of the Hesperides, Heracles tricked Atlas into retrieving some of the golden apples for him, by offering to hold up the heavens for a little while (Atlas was able to take them as, in this version, he was the father or otherwise related to the Hesperides). This would have made this task – like the Hydra and Augean stables – void because he had received help. Upon his return, Atlas decided that he did not want to take the heavens back, and instead offered to deliver the apples himself, but Heracles tricked him again by agreeing to take his place on condition that Atlas relieve him temporarily so that Heracles could make his cloak more comfortable. Atlas agreed, but Heracles reneged and walked away, carrying the apples. According to an alternative version, Heracles slew Ladon instead and stole the apples.  There is another variation to the story where Heracles was the only person to steal the apples, other than Perseus, although Athena later returned the apples to their rightful place in the garden. They are considered by some to be the same "apples of joy" that tempted Atalanta, as opposed to the "apple of discord" used by Eris to start a beauty contest on Olympus (which caused "The Siege of Troy").  On Attic pottery, especially from the late fifth century, Heracles is depicted sitting in bliss in the Gardens of the Hesperides, attended by the maidens.

Argonauts' encounter.

After the hero Heracles killed Ladon and stole the golden apples, the Argonauts during their journey, came to the Hesperian plain the next day. The band of heroes asked for the mercy of the Hesperides to guide them to a source of water in order to replenish their thirst. The goddesses pitying the young men, directed them to a spring created by Heracles who likewise longing for a draught while wandering the land, smote a rock near Lake Triton after which the water gushed out. The following passage recounts this meeting of the Argonauts and the nymphs:Then, like raging hounds, they [i.e. Argonauts] rushed to search for a spring; for besides their suffering and anguish, a parching thirst lay upon them, and not in vain did they wander; but they came to the sacred plain where Ladon, the serpent of the land, till yesterday kept watch over the golden apples in the garden of Atlas; and all around the nymphs, the Hesperides, were busied, chanting their lovely song. But at that time, stricken by Heracles, he lay fallen by the trunk of the apple-tree; only the tip of his tail was still writhing; but from his head down his dark spine he lay lifeless; and where the arrows had left in his blood the bitter gall of the Lernaean hydra, flies withered and died over the festering wounds. And close at hand the Hesperides, their white arms flung over their golden heads, lamented shrilly; and the heroes drew near suddenly; but the maidens, at their quick approach, at once became dust and earth where they stood. Orpheus marked the divine portent, and for his comrades addressed them in prayer: "O divine ones, fair and kind, be gracious, O queens, whether ye be numbered among the heavenly goddesses, or those beneath the earth, or be called the Solitary nymphs; come, O nymphs, sacred race of Oceanus, appear manifest to our longing eyes and show us some spring of water from the rock or some sacred flow gushing from the earth, goddesses, wherewith we may quench the thirst that burns us unceasingly. And if ever again we return in our voyaging to the Achaean land, then to you among the first of goddesses with willing hearts will we bring countless gifts, libations and banquets.So he spake, beseeching them with plaintive voice; and they from their station near pitied their pain; and lo! First of all they caused grass to spring from the earth; and above the grass rose up tall shoots, and then flourishing saplings grew standing upright far above the earth. Hespere became a poplar and Eretheis an elm, and Aegle a willow's sacred trunk. And forth from these trees their forms looked out, as clear as they were before, a marvel exceeding great, and Aegle spake with gentle words answering their longing looks: "Surely there has come hither a mighty succour to your toils, that most accursed man, who robbed our guardian serpent of life and plucked the golden apples of the goddesses and is gone; and has left bitter grief for us. For yesterday came a man most fell in wanton violence, most grim in form; and his eyes flashed beneath his scowling brow; a ruthless wretch; and he was clad in the skin of a monstrous lion of raw hide, untanned; and he bare a sturdy bow of olive, and a bow, wherewith he shot and killed this monster here. So he too came, as one traversing the land on foot, parched with thirst; and he rushed wildly through this spot, searching for water, but nowhere was he like to see it. Now here stood a rock near the Tritonian lake; and of his own device, or by the prompting of some god, he smote it below with his foot; and the water gushed out in full flow. And he, leaning both his hands and chest upon the ground, drank a huge draught from the rifted rock, until, stooping like a beast of the field, he had satisfied his mighty maw.Thus she spake; and they gladly with joyful steps ran to the spot where Aegle had pointed out to them the spring, until they reached it. And as when earth-burrowing ants gather in swarms round a narrow cleft, or when flies lighting upon a tiny drop of sweet honey cluster round with insatiate eagerness; so at that time, huddled together, the Minyae thronged about the spring from the rock. And thus with wet lips one cried to another in his delight: "Strange! In very truth Heracles, though far away, has saved his comrades, fordone with thirst. Would that we might find him on his way as we pass through the mainland!

Variation of the myth.

According to Diodorus' account, the Hesperides did not have the golden apples instead they possessed flocks of sheep which excelled in beauty and were therefore called for their beauty, as the poets might do, "golden apples," just as Aphroditê is called "golden" because of her loveliness. Others also say that it was because the sheep had a peculiar colour like gold that they got this designation, and that Dracon ("dragon") was the name of the shepherd of the sheep, a man who excelled in strength of body and courage, who guarded the sheep and slew any who might dare to carry them off.

In the Renaissance.

With the revival of classical allusions in the Renaissance, the Hesperides returned to their prominent position, and the garden itself took on the name of its nymphs: Robert Greene wrote of "The fearful Dragon... that watched the garden called Hesperides". Shakespeare inserted the comically insistent rhyme "is not Love a Hercules, Still climbing trees in the Hesperides" in "Love's Labours Lost" (iv.iii) and John Milton mentioned the "ladies of the Hesperides" in "Paradise Regained" (ii.357). "Hesperides" (published 1647) was the title of a collection of pastoral and religious verse by the Royalist poet Robert Herrick.

In Greek mythology, the Hesperides (; Ancient Greek: Ἑσπερίδες ) are the nymphs of evening and golden light of sunsets, who were the "Daughters of the Evening" or "Nymphs of the West". They were also called the Atlantides (Ἀτλαντίδων) from their reputed father, the Titan Atlas.

Die Hesperiden (, "Hesperídes") sind Nymphen (die hellsingenden Töchter) der griechischen Mythologie. Ihre Zahl schwankt je nach Quelle zwischen drei und sieben.


Signs and symptoms.

Food allergies usually have a fast onset (from seconds to one hour) and may include:  In some cases, however, onset of symptoms may be delayed for hours.  Symptoms can vary. The amount of food needed to trigger a reaction also varies.  Serious danger regarding allergies can begin when the respiratory tract or blood circulation is affected. The former can be indicated through wheezing and cyanosis. Poor blood circulation leads to a weak pulse, pale skin and fainting.  A severe case of an allergic reaction, caused by symptoms affecting the respiratory tract and blood circulation, is called anaphylaxis. When symptoms are related to a drop in blood pressure, the person is said to be in anaphylactic shock. Anaphylaxis occurs when IgE antibodies are involved, and areas of the body that are not in direct contact with the food become affected and show symptoms. Those with asthma or an allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, or seafood are at greater risk for anaphylaxis.

Cause.

Although sensitivity levels vary by country, the most common food allergies are allergies to milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, seafood, shellfish, soy, and wheat. These are often referred to as "the big eight". Allergies to seeds — especially sesame — seem to be increasing in many countries. An example an allergy more common to a particular region is that to rice in East Asia where it forms a large part of the diet.  One of the most common food allergies is a sensitivity to peanuts, a member of the bean family. Peanut allergies may be severe, but children with peanut allergies sometimes outgrow them. Tree nuts, including almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, coconuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios, pine nuts, and walnuts, are also common allergens. Sufferers may be sensitive to one particular tree nut or to many different ones. Also, seeds, including sesame seeds and poppy seeds, contain oils where protein is present, which may elicit an allergic reaction.  Egg allergies affect about one in 50 children but are frequently outgrown by children when they reach age five. Typically, the sensitivity is to proteins in the white, rather than the yolk.  Milk from cows, goats, or sheep is another common food allergen, and many sufferers are also unable to tolerate dairy products such as cheese. A small portion of children with a milk allergy, roughly 10%, have a reaction to beef. Beef contains a small amount of protein that is also present in cow's milk.  Seafood is one of the most common sources of food allergens; people may be allergic to proteins found in fish, crustaceans, or shellfish.  Other foods containing allergenic proteins include soy, wheat, fruits, vegetables, maize, spices, synthetic and natural colors, and chemical additives.  Balsam of Peru, which is in various foods, is in the "top five" allergens most commonly causing patch test reactions in people referred to dermatology clinics.

Sensitization.

Sensitization can occur through the gastrointestinal tract, respiratory tract and possibly the skin. Damage to the skin in conditions such as eczema has been proposed as a risk factor for sensitization. An Institute of Medicine report says that food proteins contained in vaccines, such as gelatin, milk, or egg can cause sensitization (development of allergy) in vaccine recipients, to those food items.

Atopy.

Food allergies develop more easily in people with the atopic syndrome, a very common combination of diseases: allergic rhinitis and conjunctivitis, eczema, and asthma. The syndrome has a strong inherited component; a family history of allergic diseases can be indicative of the atopic syndrome.

Cross-reactivity.

Some children who are allergic to cow's milk protein also show a cross-sensitivity to soy-based products. Some infant formulas have their milk and soy proteins hydrolyzed, so when taken by infants, their immune systems do not recognize the allergen and they can safely consume the product. Hypoallergenic infant formulas can be based on proteins partially predigested to a less antigenic form. Other formulas, based on free amino acids, are the least antigenic and provide complete nutritional support in severe forms of milk allergy.  People with latex allergy often also develop allergies to bananas, kiwifruit, avocados, and some other foods.

Pathophysiology.

Conditions caused by food allergies are classified into three groups according to the mechanism of the allergic response:  Allergic reactions are hyperactive responses of the immune system to generally innocuous substances. When immune cells encounter the allergenic protein, IgE antibodies are produced; this is similar to the immune system's reaction to foreign pathogens. The IgE antibodies identify the allergenic proteins as harmful and initiate the allergic reaction. The harmful proteins are those that do not break down due to the strong bonds of the protein. IgE antibodies bind to a receptor on the surface of the protein, creating a tag, just as a virus or parasite becomes tagged. Why some proteins do not denature and subsequently trigger allergic reactions and hypersensitivity while others do is not entirely clear.  Hypersensitivities are categorized according to the parts of the immune system that are attacked and the amount of time it takes for the response to occur. The four types of hypersensitivity reaction are: type 1, immediate IgE-mediated; type 2, cytotoxic; type 3, immune complex-mediated; and type 4, delayed cell-mediated. The pathophysiology of allergic responses can be divided into two phases. The first is an acute response that occurs immediately after exposure to an allergen. This phase can either subside or progress into a "late-phase reaction" which can substantially prolong the symptoms of a response, and result in tissue damage.  Many food allergies are caused by hypersensitivities to particular proteins in different foods. Proteins have unique properties that allow them to become allergens, such as stabilizing forces in their tertiary and quaternary structures which prevent degradation during digestion. Many theoretically allergenic proteins cannot survive the destructive environment of the digestive tract, thus do not trigger hypersensitive reactions.

Acute response.

In the early stages of allergy, a type I hypersensitivity reaction against an allergen, encountered for the first time, causes a response in a type of immune cell called a T2 lymphocyte, which belongs to a subset of T cells that produce a cytokine called interleukin-4 (IL-4). These T2 cells interact with other lymphocytes called B cells, whose role is the production of antibodies. Coupled with signals provided by IL-4, this interaction stimulates the B cell to begin production of a large amount of a particular type of antibody known as IgE. Secreted IgE circulates in the blood and binds to an IgE-specific receptor (a kind of Fc receptor called FcεRI) on the surface of other kinds of immune cells called mast cells and basophils, which are both involved in the acute inflammatory response. The IgE-coated cells, at this stage, are sensitized to the allergen.  If later exposure to the same allergen occurs, the allergen can bind to the IgE molecules held on the surface of the mast cells or basophils. Cross-linking of the IgE and Fc receptors occurs when more than one IgE-receptor complex interacts with the same allergenic molecule, and activates the sensitized cell. Activated mast cells and basophils undergo a process called degranulation, during which they release histamine and other inflammatory chemical mediators (cytokines, interleukins, leukotrienes, and prostaglandins) from their granules into the surrounding tissue causing several systemic effects, such as vasodilation, mucous secretion, nerve stimulation, and smooth-muscle contraction. This results in rhinorrhea, itchiness, dyspnea, and anaphylaxis. Depending on the individual, the allergen, and the mode of introduction, the symptoms can be system-wide (classical anaphylaxis), or localized to particular body systems.

Late-phase response.

After the chemical mediators of the acute response subside, late-phase responses can often occur due to the migration of other leukocytes such as neutrophils, lymphocytes, eosinophils, and macrophages to the initial site. The reaction is usually seen 2–24 hours after the original reaction. Cytokines from mast cells may also play a role in the persistence of long-term effects.

Diagnosis.

Diagnosis is usually based on a medical history, elimination diet, skin prick test, blood tests for food-specific IgE antibodies, or oral food challenge.  Skin-prick testing is easy to do and results are available in minutes. Different allergists may use different devices for testing. Some use a "bifurcated needle", which looks like a fork with two prongs. Others use a "multitest", which may look like a small board with several pins sticking out of it. In these tests, a tiny amount of the suspected allergen is put onto the skin or into a testing device, and the device is placed on the skin to prick, or break through, the top layer of skin. This puts a small amount of the allergen under the skin. A hive will form at any spot where the person is allergic. This test generally yields a positive or negative result. It is good for quickly learning if a person is allergic to a particular food or not, because it detects IgE. Skin tests cannot predict if a reaction would occur or what kind of reaction might occur if a person ingests that particular allergen. They can, however, confirm an allergy in light of a patient's history of reactions to a particular food. Non-IgE-mediated allergies cannot be detected by this method.  A CAP-RAST has greater specificity than RAST; it can show the amount of IgE present to each allergen. Researchers have been able to determine "predictive values" for certain foods, which can be compared to the RAST results. If a person's RAST score is higher than the predictive value for that food, over a 95% chance exists that patients will have an allergic reaction (limited to rash and anaphylaxis reactions) if they ingest that food. Currently, predictive values are available for milk, egg, peanut, fish, soy, and wheat. Blood tests allow for hundreds of allergens to be screened from a single sample, and cover food allergies as well as inhalants. However, non-IgE-mediated allergies cannot be detected by this method. Other widely promoted tests such as the antigen leukocyte cellular antibody test and the food allergy profile are considered unproven methods, the use of which is not advised.  Food challenges, especially double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges, are the gold standard for diagnosis of food allergies, including most non-IgE-mediated reactions, but is rarely done. Blind food challenges involve packaging the suspected allergen into a capsule, giving it to the patient, and observing the patient for signs or symptoms of an allergic reaction.  The recommended method for diagnosing food allergy is to be assessed by an allergist. The allergist will review the patient's history and the symptoms or reactions that have been noted after food ingestion. If the allergist feels the symptoms or reactions are consistent with food allergy, he/she will perform allergy tests. Additional diagnostic tools for evaluation of eosinophilic or non-IgE mediated reactions include endoscopy, colonoscopy, and biopsy.

Differential diagnosis.

Important differential diagnoses are:

Prevention.

Breastfeeding for more than four months may prevent atopic dermatitis, cow's milk allergy, and wheezing in early childhood. Early exposure to potential allergens may be protective. Specifically, early exposure to eggs and peanuts reduces the risk of allergies to these. Guidelines suggest introducing peanuts as early as 4–6 months and include precautionary measures for high-risk infants. The former guidelines, advising delaying the introduction of peanuts, are now thought to have contributed to the increase in peanut allergy seen recently.  To avoid an allergic reaction, a strict diet can be followed. It is difficult to determine the amount of allergenic food required to elicit a reaction, so complete avoidance should be attempted. In some cases, hypersensitive reactions can be triggered by exposures to allergens through skin contact, inhalation, kissing, participation in sports, blood transfusions, cosmetics, and alcohol.

Inhalation exposure.

Allergic reactions to airborne particles or vapors of known food allergens have been reported as an occupational consequence of people working in the food industry, but can also take place in home situations, restaurants, or confined spaces such as airplanes. According to two reviews, respiratory symptoms are common, but in some cases there has been progression to anaphylaxis. The most frequent reported cases of reactions by inhalation of allergenic foods were due to peanut, seafood, legumes, tree nut, and cow's milk. Steam rising from cooking of lentils, green beans, chickpeas and fish has been well documented as triggering reactions, including anaphylactic reactions. One review mentioned case study examples of allergic responses to inhalation of other foods, including examples in which oral consumption of the food is tolerated.

Treatment.

The mainstay of treatment for food allergy is total avoidance of the foods identified as allergens. An allergen can enter the body by consuming a food containing the allergen, and can also be ingested by touching any surfaces that may have come into contact with the allergen, then touching the eyes or nose. For people who are extremely sensitive, avoidance includes avoiding touching or inhaling the problematic food. Total avoidance is complicated because the declaration of the presence of trace amounts of allergens in foods is not mandatory (see regulation of labelling).  If the food is accidentally ingested and a systemic reaction (anaphylaxis) occurs, then epinephrine should be used. A second dose of epinephrine may be required for severe reactions. The person should then be transported to the emergency room, where additional treatment can be given. Other treatments include antihistamines and steroids.

Epinephrine.

Epinephrine (adrenaline) is the first-line treatment for severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis). If administered in a timely manner, epinephrine can reverse its effects. Epinephrine relieves airway swelling and obstruction, and improves blood circulation; blood vessels are tightened and heart rate is increased, improving circulation to body organs. Epinephrine is available by prescription in an autoinjector.

Antihistamines.

Antihistamines can alleviate some of the milder symptoms of an allergic reaction, but do not treat all symptoms of anaphylaxis. Antihistamines block the action of histamine, which causes blood vessels to dilate and become leaky to plasma proteins. Histamine also causes itchiness by acting on sensory nerve terminals. The most common antihistamine given for food allergies is diphenhydramine.

Steroids.

Glucocorticoid steroids are used to calm down the immune system cells that are attacked by the chemicals released during an allergic reaction. This treatment in the form of a nasal spray should not be used to treat anaphylaxis, for it only relieves symptoms in the area in which the steroid is in contact. Another reason steroids should not be used is the delay in reducing inflammation. Steroids can also be taken orally or through injection, by which every part of the body can be reached and treated, but a long time is usually needed for these to take effect.

Epidemiology.

The most common food allergens account for about 90% of all allergic reactions; in adults they include shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and egg. In children, they include milk, eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts. Six to 8% of children under the age of three have food allergies and nearly 4% of adults have food allergies.  For reasons not entirely understood, the diagnosis of food allergies has apparently become more common in Western nations recently. One possible explanation for this is the "old friends" hypothesis which suggests that non disease causing organisms, such as helminths, could protect against allergy. Therefore, reduced exposure to these organisms, particularly in developed countries, could have contributed towards the increase.  In the United States, food allergy affects as many as 5% of infants less than three years of age and 3% to 4% of adults. A similar prevalence is found in Canada.  About 75% of children who have allergies to milk protein are able to tolerate baked-in milk products, i.e., muffins, cookies, cake, and hydrolyzed formulas.  About 50% of children with allergies to milk, egg, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat will outgrow their allergy by the age of 6. Those who are still allergic by the age of 12 or so have less than an 8% chance of outgrowing the allergy.  Peanut and tree nut allergies are less likely to be outgrown, although evidence now shows that about 20% of those with peanut allergies and 9% of those with tree nut allergies will outgrow them.  In Japan, allergy to buckwheat flour, used for soba noodles, is more common than peanuts, tree nuts or foods made from soy beans.

United States.

In the United States, an estimated 12 million people have food allergies. Food allergy affects as many as 5% of infants less than three years of age and 3% to 4% of adults. The prevalence of food allergies is rising. Food allergies cause roughly 30,000 emergency room visits and 150 deaths per year.

Society and culture.

Whether rates of food allergy are increasing or not, food allergy awareness has definitely increased, with impacts on the quality of life for children, their parents and their caregivers. In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 causes people to be reminded of allergy problems every time they handle a food package, and restaurants have added allergen warnings to menus. The Culinary Institute of America, a premier school for chef training, has courses in allergen-free cooking and a separate teaching kitchen. School systems have protocols about what foods can be brought into the school. Despite all these precautions, people with serious allergies are aware that accidental exposure can easily occur at other peoples' houses, at school or in restaurants. Food fear has a significant impact on quality of life. For children with allergies, their quality of life is also affected by actions of their peers. There is an increased occurrence of bullying, which can include threats or acts of deliberately being touched with foods they need to avoid, also having their allergen-free food deliberately contaminated. In the 2018 animated/live action movie "Peter Rabbit," rabbits used blackberries to deliberately induce an anaphylactic allergy response in a farmer who is trying to protect his garden. After many public protests, Sony Pictures and the director apologized for making light of food allergies.

Regulation of labelling.

In response to the risk that certain foods pose to those with food allergies, some countries have responded by instituting labeling laws that require food products to clearly inform consumers if their products contain priority allergens or byproducts of major allergens among the ingredients intentionally added to foods.  The priority allergens vary by country.  There are no labeling laws mandating declaration of the presence of trace amounts in the final product as a consequence of cross-contamination, except in Brazil.

Ingredients intentionally added.

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA) requires companies to disclose on the label whether a packaged food product contains any of these eight major food allergens, added intentionally: cow's milk, peanuts, eggs, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, soy and wheat. (In October 2018 the US FDA issued a request for information for the consideration of labeling for sesame to help protect people who have sesame allergies.) The eight-ingredient is list originated in 1999 from the World Health Organisation Codex Alimentarius Commission. To meet FALCPA labeling requirements, if an ingredient is derived from one of the required-label allergens, then it must either have its "food sourced name" in parentheses, for example "Casein (milk)," or as an alternative, there must be a statement separate but adjacent to the ingredients list: "Contains milk" (and any other of the allergens with mandatory labeling). The European Union requires listing for those eight major allergens plus molluscs, celery, mustard, lupin, sesame and sulfites.  FALCPA applies to packaged foods regulated by the FDA, which does not include poultry, most meats, certain egg products, and most alcoholic beverages. However, some meat, poultry, and egg processed products may contain allergenic ingredients. These products are regulated by the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), which requires that any ingredient be declared in the labeling only by its common or usual name. Neither the identification of the source of a specific ingredient in a parenthetical statement nor the use of statements to alert for the presence of specific ingredients, like "Contains: milk", are mandatory according to FSIS. FALCPA also does not apply to food prepared in restaurants. The EU Food Information for Consumers Regulation 1169/2011 – requires food businesses to provide allergy information on food sold unpackaged, for example, in catering outlets, deli counters, bakeries and sandwich bars.  In the United States, there is no federal mandate to address the presence of allergens in drug products. FALCPA does not apply to medicines nor to cosmetics.

Trace amounts as a result of cross-contamination.

The value of allergen labeling other than for intentional ingredients is controversial. This concerns labeling for ingredients present unintentionally as a consequence of cross-contact or cross-contamination at any point along the food chain (during raw material transportation, storage or handling, due to shared equipment for processing and packaging, etc.). Experts in this field propose that if allergen labeling is to be useful to consumers, and healthcare professionals who advise and treat those consumers, ideally there should be agreement on which foods require labeling, threshold quantities below which labeling may be of no purpose, and validation of allergen detection methods to test and potentially recall foods that were deliberately or inadvertently contaminated.  Labeling regulations have been modified to provide for mandatory labeling of ingredients plus voluntary labeling, termed precautionary allergen labeling (PAL), also known as “may contain” statements, for possible, inadvertent, trace amount, cross-contamination during production. PAL labeling can be confusing to consumers, especially as there can be many variations on the wording of the warning. PAL is optional in the United States., PAL is regulated only in Switzerland, Japan, Argentina, and South Africa. Argentina decided to prohibit precautionary allergen labeling since 2010, and instead puts the onus on the manufacturer to control the manufacturing process and label only those allergenic ingredients known to be in the products. South Africa does not permit the use of PAL, except when manufacturers demonstrate the potential presence of allergen due to cross-contamination through a documented risk assessment and despite adherence to Good Manufacturing Practice. In Australia and New Zealand there is a recommendation that PAL be replaced by guidance from VITAL 2.0 (Vital Incidental Trace Allergen Labeling). A review identified "the eliciting dose for an allergic reaction in 1% of the population" as ED01. This threshold reference dose for foods (such as cow's milk, egg, peanut and other proteins) will provide food manufacturers with guidance for developing precautionary labeling and give consumers a better idea of might be accidentally in a food product beyond "may contain." VITAL 2.0 was developed by the Allergen Bureau, a food industry sponsored, non-government organization. The European Union has initiated a process to create labeling regulations for unintentional contamination but is not expected to publish such before 2024.  In Brazil, since April 2016, the declaration of the possibility of cross-contamination is mandatory when the product does not intentionally add any allergenic food or its derivatives, but the Good Manufacturing Practices and allergen control measures adopted are not sufficient to prevent the presence of accidental trace amounts. These allergens include wheat, rye, barley, oats and their hybrids, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybean, milk of all species of mammalians, almonds, hazelnuts, cashew nuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecan nuts, pistachios, pine nuts, and chestnuts.

Genetically modified food.

There are concerns that genetically modified foods, also described as foods sourced from genetically modified organisms (GMO), could be responsible for allergic reactions, and that the widespread acceptance of GMO foods may be responsible for what is a real or perceived increase in the percentage of people with allergies. There is a scientific consensus that available food derived from GM crops poses no greater risk to human health than conventional food. A 2016 U.S. National Academy of Sciences report concluded that there is no relationship between consumption of GM foods and the increase in prevalence of food allergies.  One concern is that genetic engineering could make an allergy-provoking food more allergic, meaning that smaller portions would suffice to set off a reaction. Of the food currently in widespread GMO use, only soybeans are identified as a common allergen. However, for the soybean proteins known to trigger allergic reactions, there is more variation from strain to strain than between those and the GMO varieties. Another concern is that genes transferred from one species to another could introduce an allergen in a food not thought of as particularly allergenic. Research on an attempt to enhance the quality of soybean protein by adding genes from Brazil nuts was terminated when human volunteers known to have tree nut allergy reacted to the modified soybeans.  Prior to a new GMO food receiving government approval, certain criteria need to be met. These include: Is the donor species known to be allergenic? Does the amino acid sequence of the transferred proteins resemble the sequence of known allergenic proteins? Are the transferred proteins resistant to digestion - a trait shared by many allergenic proteins? Genes approved for animal use can be restricted from human consumption due to potential for allergic reactions. In 1998 Starlink brand corn restricted to animals was detected in the human food supply, leading to first a voluntary and then a FDA mandated recall. There are requirements in some countries and recommendations in others that all foods containing GMO ingredients be so labeled, and that there be a post-launch monitoring system to report adverse effects (much there exists in some countries for drug and dietary supplement reporting).

Restaurants.

In the US, the FDA Food Code states that the person in charge in restaurants should have knowledge about major food allergens, cross-contacts, and symptoms of food allergy reactions. Restaurant staff, including wait staff and kitchen staff, may not be adequately informed about allergenic ingredients, or the risk of cross-contact when kitchen utensils used to prepare food may have been in previous contact with an allergenic food. The problem may be compounded when customers have a hard time describing their food allergies or when wait staff have a hard time understanding those with food allergies when taking an order.

Diagnosing issues.

There exists both over-reporting and under-reporting of the prevalence of food allergies. Self-diagnosed perceptions of food allergy are greater than the rates of true food allergy because people confuse non-allergic intolerance with allergy, and also attribute non-allergy symptoms to an allergic response. Conversely, healthcare professionals treating allergic reactions on an out-patient or even hospitalized basis may not report all cases. Recent increases in reported cases may reflect a real change in incidence or an increased awareness on the part of healthcare professionals.

Research.

A number of desensitization techniques are being studied. Areas of research include anti-IgE antibody (omalizumab), specific oral tolerance induction (SOTI, also known as OIT for oral immunotherapy), and sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT). The benefits of allergen immunotherapy for food allergies is unclear, thus is not recommended.  There is research on the effects of increasing intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) during pregnancy, lactation, via infant formula and in early childhood on the subsequent risk of developing food allergies during infancy and childhood. From two reviews, maternal intake of omega-3, long-chain fatty acids during pregnancy appeared to reduce the risks of medically diagnosed IgE-mediated allergy, eczema and food allergy per parental reporting in the first 12 months of life, but the effects were not all sustained past 12 months. The reviews characterized the literature's evidence as inconsistent and limited. Results when breastfeeding mothers were consuming a diet high in PUFAs were inconclusive. For infants, supplementing their diet with oils high in PUFAs did not affect the risks of food allergies, eczema or asthma either as infants or into childhood.  There is research on probiotics, prebiotics and the combination of the two (synbiotics) as a means of treating or preventing infant and child allergies. From reviews, there appears to be a treatment benefit for eczema, but not asthma, wheezing or rhinoconjunctivitis. The evidence was not consistent for preventing food allergies and this approach cannot yet be recommended.  The Food Standards Agency, in the United Kingdom, are in charge of funding research into food allergies and intolerance. Since their founding in 1994 they have funded over 45 studies. In 2005 Europe created EuroPrevall, a multi-country project dedicated to research involving allergies.

A food allergy is an abnormal immune response to food. The symptoms of the allergic reaction may range from mild to severe. They may include itchiness, swelling of the tongue, vomiting, diarrhea, hives, trouble breathing, or low blood pressure. This typically occurs within minutes to several hours of exposure. When the symptoms are severe, it is known as anaphylaxis. A food intolerance and food poisoning are separate conditions, not due to an immune response. Common foods involved include cow's milk, peanuts, eggs, shellfish, fish, tree nuts, soy, wheat, rice, and fruit. The common allergies vary depending on the country. Risk factors include a family history of allergies, vitamin D deficiency, obesity, and high levels of cleanliness. Allergies occur when immunoglobulin E (IgE), part of the body's immune system, binds to food molecules. A protein in the food is usually the problem. This triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals such as histamine. Diagnosis is usually based on a medical history, elimination diet, skin prick test, blood tests for food-specific IgE antibodies, or oral food challenge. Early exposure to potential allergens may be protective. Management primarily involves avoiding the food in question and having a plan if exposure occurs. This plan may include giving adrenaline (epinephrine) and wearing medical alert jewelry. The benefits of allergen immunotherapy for food allergies is unclear, thus is not recommended. Some types of food allergies among children resolve with age, including that to milk, eggs, and soy; while others such as to nuts and shellfish typically do not. In the developed world, about 4% to 8% of people have at least one food allergy. They are more common in children than adults and appear to be increasing in frequency. Male children appear to be more commonly affected than females. Some allergies more commonly develop early in life, while others typically develop in later life. In developed countries, a large proportion of people believe they have food allergies when they actually do not have them. The declaration of the presence of trace amounts of allergens in foods is mandatory only in Brazil.

Die Nahrungsmittelallergie oder Lebensmittelallergie ist eine besondere Form der Nahrungsmittelunverträglichkeit. Sie ist gekennzeichnet durch eine spezifische Überempfindlichkeit (Allergie) gegen bestimmte Stoffe, die in der Nahrung enthalten sind und mit ihr aufgenommen werden.