Scientists at the University of Nottingham’s School of Pharmacy and Biosciences, in collaboration with colleagues in the Centre for Respiratory Research at Nottingham City Hospital in England have won a prestigious Da Vinci award for developing a new technique that can test for up to 5,000 different allergens from just one drop of blood.
Not only can it test up to 5,000 different food or inhalant allergens that could cause an allergic reaction in a patient, but the researchers are also hoping it could also be developed as a diagnostic tool for parasitic infections. 
It works by adding tiny dots of allergen molecules to paper on a glass slide. A drop of the patient's blood is added before the slide is incubated with the cells causing the symptoms of allergy. Cellular activation can then be analyzed to discover which of the allergens are prompting the release of histamine and other chemicals indicative of allergic reaction in the patient's blood.

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One of the most awkward and embarrassing aspects of having food allergies is going to a restaurant and communicating which ingredients are problematic. Then the food comes out - and its wrong! Then you have to wait ...and watch everyone else eat while your "special" food is being prepared.