Can food allergies cause irritable children?

The simple answer is "Yes".
Even with my Medical background I can't exactly why or what the difference is between a "regular" allergy and this type, but it is the case all the same.
My first son had a lot of difficulties and peculiar behaviors, and after a long time of dealing with doctors and mixed diagnoses, we "stumbled" on the idea of food allergies. Had to look up the doctor who had written a book on the subject, he was retired by that time, but coincidentally he lived only 30 minutes from us (San Diego, CA at the time) and he invited us to his house. In short, using certain foods (red food dye being the biggest problem) and then "counter-foods" (they seemed to neutralize the effects) he really saw very clearly the differences.
I wish I could remember the name of the doctor or book for you (this was about 12 years ago now), but perhaps if you search with key words, you may find it.
The one think that really stood out to me and helps me to this day (I'm a Paramedic and have to assess patients every day) is that when reacting with this type of allergy, the children get dark rings under their eyes as if they hadn't sleep in a long time. As soon as i see the dark eyes I ask the parents about the child's behavior and get the same description EVERY time. Most of the time, the child has many known allergies as well.
Good luck with your research. Be safe.

Just adding a few comments based of of some of the other comments. I don't know if it is stil the case, but 12 years ago, most "allergist" didn't yet "buy into" this (if it didn't produce Hives or Sniffles... it just wasn't an allergy). Also, my son was diagnosed with "Autism X", as soon as we started the "allergy program", the doctors immediately changed that diagnoses and acted as if they had never said anything was wrong... he is just fine today (maybe a little ADD, but nothing noticable).
Finally, to the "parents fault" comments, while some parents certainly are to blame for some children misbehavior, this is generally a very unintelligent and irritable perspective... of course maybe it was thier parent's fault they see things that way ;)

yes, if u suspect, CHECK!

Yes yes yes
If you do not feel well, wont you get irritable? I know I do.

yes go check with an allergist

yes very much so it really sucks and dont go away for days or even weeks

maybe, my three siblings are very allergic to anything to do with any nut, and they are all very irratible. that will be my new theory, never thought of it before! then again, my sister is just a *****, and my brothers have CP and minor Autism...... i dont know what to think.

Yes absolutely. Especially ones that cause internal and external irritation, and imbalance of the bodies chemicals.

Yep. That's been proven numerous times since the 70s. In addition, dyes and flavorings can cause the same problem. My sister is allergic to garlic. We can tell when something had hidden garlic because she becomes the witch from hell within about 30 minutes.

yes, and does.....go to allergy clinic to find out which foods to cut out in their diet........

Yes. I have a son that is allergic to food dyes. when he eats them he is uncontrollable. (hyper and just not himself) now I restrict him from dyes and his behavior has totally changed.

Yes it's possible and oddly enough the child is usually allergic to their favorite food. Try a test by keeping their favorite food away for about 2 weeks then give them one meal and see what happens.

Yes it could

Yes, there was a program on TV not too long ago showing a child that had ADHD and while at the clinic for observation they gave this child testing for food allergies and he was allergic to many things. As a person myself who is highly allergic to many items both food wise and indoor/outdoor, I get cranky when they act up.

No, poor parenting causes irratable children

nope, nagging parents can cause irritable children