Objective: We quantified the anxiety among mothers about food allergies with baby food and investigated the factors that enhanced the anxiety.

Methods: During a 2-month period from March to April 2020, mothers of infants seen for late-term infant health examinations at pediatric outpatient facilities were asked if they had experienced food allergy with baby food and were surveyed about this anxiety using a Likert scale. In addition, the anxiety about food allergy was compared to the anxiety about aspiration and food poisoning.

Results: A total of 533 questionnaires were collected from 36 institutions. Among the respondents, 16.4% had experienced food allergy symptoms. Most of the food allergy symptoms were mild, but even mild symptoms, such as partial urticaria, were significantly high on the anxiety scale and led to food avoidance (P < 0.01). The anxiety scale was highest for aspiration, followed by food poisoning, and lowest for food allergy.

Conclusion: Although most mothers' anxiety about food allergy was not high, the experience of even mild food allergy symptoms led to increased anxiety about weaning and food avoidance.