Evans, Ian M., and Pia Pechtel. “Phagophobia: Behavioral Treatment of a Complex Case Involving Fear of Fear.” Clinical Case Studies (n.d.). http://ccs.sagepub.com/content/early/2010/12/04/1534650110391085.abstract.
Phagophobia is the fear of swallowing. Like many phobias, the Greek name—phago (to eat)— turns out to be slightly misleading. It would suggest, for instance, that the phobia refers to a fear of eating (Nock, 2002), whereas the more usual usage is for a fear of swallowing (Shapiro, Franko, & Gagne, 1997). Even then, “swallowing” may not capture the full spectrum of the fear, as fear of choking is a particularly common form of this phobic pattern. Generally, the phobia is concerned with swallowing food and liquids; however, there are some people who are unable to swallow their own saliva, irrespective of there being food in the mouth. Swallowing pills and tablets generates anxiety in many people, and they are then unable or unwilling to actually swallow pills in whole. A common manifestation of phagophobia is not fear of eating per se but fear of eating in public, which is therefore more akin to a social phobia.
Cited
Nock, M. K. (2002). A multiple-baseline evaluation of the treatment of food phobia in a young boy. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 33, 217-225.
Shapiro, J., Franko, D. L., & Gagne, A. (1997). Phagophobia: A form of psychogenic dysphagia—A new entity. Annals of Otology, Rhinology & Laryngology, 106, 286-290.