Industrial dimensions of food allergy

Abstract

Serious attempts to estimate the impact of allergic reactions to foods on public health did not begin until the 1980s. Until about 15 years ago food allergy was considered a minor aspect of food safety. Two developments probably prompted a radical re-appraisal of that situation. The first was the apparently inexorable rise in the prevalence of atopic diseases, of which food allergy forms a part, with its possible consequences highlighted by some well-publicised severe reactions. The second was the growth of genetic modification technology, manifested by the commercialisation of transgenic crops. Each of these developments impacted on the food industry in distinct ways. On the one hand, consumers with food allergies had to be enabled to avoid specific allergens in products formulated with existing ingredients. Food manufacturers therefore had to identify those specific allergens down to trace amounts in all the ingredients forming the product and label or remove them. On the other hand, the introduction of products using ingredients from novel sources required an assessment of the allergenicity of these ingredients as an integral part of safety assurance. The approaches used by the food industry to protect existing consumers who have food allergies and those at potential risk of sensitisation from novel proteins will be illustrated, emphasising how they need to be built into every stage of the life cycle of a product.

Thresholds for food allergens and their value to different stakeholders

“…Allergic people can find avoidance of specific foods very difficult. Labelling rules generally cover only deliberately added ingredients in prepacked foods, but supply chain and manufacturing processes are extremely complex (10), resulting in the adventitious presence of small amounts of allergens in many products. This situation presents allergic consumers with a dilemma: they can either accept decreased food choices or take a risk that they are unable to assess.…”

Solution Structure and Stability against Digestion of rproBnIb, a Recombinant 2S Albumin from Rapeseed: Relationship to Its Allergenic Properties,

“…2S Albumins from several species such as mustard, castor bean, Brazil nut, English walnut, sunflower, and peanut have been shown to be type I allergy inducers of remarkable incidence, suggesting that this family of storage proteins is intrinsically allergenic (2,3). The importance of 2S albumins as allergens is increasing because many of these seeds are frequently hidden as condiment in manufactured foods (4,5).…”

A Single Oral Sensitization to Peanut without Adjuvant Leads to Anaphylaxis in Mice

“…To produce a safe product, the manufacturer therefore has to ensure that any residual allergen is below levels which might provoke reactions, even in highly sensitive individuals. It constitutes an important challenge for food industries to guarantee safe products in order to reduce the risk of serious reactions in highly sensitized individuals [8]. For the understanding of immunological mechanisms and exploration of new therapeutic approaches to food allergy, clinical studies are the gold standard tests, but for obvious ethical reasons, it is not possible to implement them on a routine basis.…”