Adverse reactions to food are defined as any abnormal reaction to the ingestion of foods or food additives. Food allergy or hypersensitivity may be IgE-mediated or non-IgE-mediated. As is the case for other allergic diseases, over the last decades the prevalence of food allergy has been increasing, a fact possibly due to an interaction between genetic, environmental and dietary factors in view of the increasingly earlier introduction of solid foods and heterologous proteins in the infant’s diet. This fact has motivated the early implementation of preventive strategies. The article presents a review on food allergy addressing conceptual aspects, epidemiology, risk factors, clinical and treatment, highlighting cow’s milk protein allergy, the role of breastfeeding on food allergies and strategies for prevention.