Can the ingredient protease cause an allergic reaction (specifically, as used in processed foods)?

My son is allergic/intolerant to certain food additives. The three that we've pinpointed so far are sodium benzoate, sodium nitrate/nitrite, and cochineal/carmine.

He broke out in hives after eating a bagged snack mix at school. The only ingredient in the list I don't think he's had before and that I did not recognize is something called protease. The only info I can find on it is technical chemical terms about inhibitors and such, and I don't understand a thing about it.

Can anyone tell me, in simple terms, whether protease as an ingredient in processed foods is known to cause allergic reactions? Thank you for your help!

You betcha! Protease enzymes are used extensively in the bread industry. They basically are used to break down the amino acids that create proteins. Since allergy is where the immune system misidentifies benign proteins as enemy invaders, anything that affects the structure of a protein could cause your son a problem. Since his allergies seem to be with preservatives, as a rule of thumb he should take a pass on prepackaged foods. The good news is that things such as sodium benzoate and protease enzymes aren't good for anyone....at least his allergy is preventing him from eating these exotoxins.

Probably not. What a weird name for an ingredient. Are you sure it wasn't X protease? (where X= some word)

I'm allergic to turmeric, so I'm ALL over the weird allergy thing, lol.