Food Allergy Research Set to Develop Standardized Management of Food Manufacturers

An article “Is it a real food allergy?” published in youris.com highlighted the concern of food allergies, most of which are developed in early childhood.

“Food allergy is a real disease, with a prevalence of 1-4% in the general population with children being more affected than adults”, says Enrico Heffler, allergist and clinical immunologist at the University of Catania, Italy, as well as General Secretary of the Italian Society of Allergy, Asthma and Clinical Immunology (SIAAIC).  “However”, Heffler continues, “food intolerances identify a number of non-allergic diseases, usually due to enzymatic deficiencies, characterized by the inability to completely digest some food components. The two most common intolerances concern, respectively, lactose, due to the lack or reduced activity of the enzyme that breaks the milk sugar (lactose), and celiac disease, where the incomplete digestion of gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, damages the small intestine”.

 

Symptoms of infant food intolerance can vary, but may include colic, reflux or more severe ‘spitting up’.  Even a tiny amount of an allergen can cause a reaction. Allergic reactions usually occur after a child eats a food that s/he is allergic to.  Symptoms of infant food allergy may include: bloody, mucousy stools; eczema; rash; hives, or a severe allergic reaction (anaphylaxis).

 

It is well known that breastfeeding is an important factor in allergy prevention: induction of tolerance by breast milk depends on maternal exposure to environmental and dietary antigens and on the efficiency of antigen transfer across mammary epithelium.  Maternal diet, weaning practices and infant feeding also affect the prevalence of food allergies: earlier introduction and regular exposure to allergenic foods (such as peanuts and egg) may in fact reduce the risk of specific allergies. 

 

Guidelines state that babies should be exclusively breast fed or given infant formula milk until around 6 months of age.  However, Marie Bodinier, researcher in the “Allergy Team” of INRA (National Institute of Agricultural Research, France), states: “There is mounting concern that the current recommended practice of delaying complementary foods until 6 months of age may increase the risk of immune disorders”.  She further explained: “Tolerance to food allergens appears to be driven by regular, early exposure to these proteins during a 'critical window' of child development”.

 

 

The three-year Integrated Approaches to Food Allergen and Allergy Risk Management (iFAAM) project, expected to be completed by the end of 2016, aims to develop scientific approaches and tools for the management of allergens in food and dietary advice.  The project will produce a standardized management process for companies involved in food manufacturing. It will also develop tools designed to enforce these regulations and produce evidence-based knowledge to inform new health advice on nutrition for pregnant women, babies and allergy sufferers.  The Manchester team will work with 38 partners, including industrial stakeholders (represented by Unilever and Eurofins), patient groups representing people at risk of severe allergic reactions from Germany, UK and Ireland and a risk manager and assessor group including the UK Food Standards Agency. The project will work loosely with the clinical community, working in collaboration with the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

 

Professor Clare Mills, from the Allergy and Respiratory Center of The University of Manchester's Institute of Inflammation and Repair and based in the Manchester Institute of Biotechnology, heads the study: "This is a massive research project which will have far reaching consequences for consumers and food producers. The evidence base and tools that result from this will support more transparent precautionary “may contain” labeling of allergens in foods which will make life easier for allergy sufferers as they try to avoid problem foods."
 
There is currently a list of foods considered to be responsible for triggering the majority of allergies across the world which includes milk, egg, peanuts, soya, wheat, tree nuts, mustard, lupin, fish, crustacean and molluscan shell fish and celery which have to be labelled irrespective of the level at which they are included in a recipe. However, management of food allergens that accidently find their way into foods which might otherwise be free of allergen, for example through the use of common processing equipment, remains problematic and often gives rise to precautionary “may contain” labels.

 

New risk models will be built on pre-existing clinical data sets to support management of these allergens in a factory environment to minimize the use of such labels.  Regina Cahill, of Anaphylaxis Ireland, said better labeling would benefit suffers: “Careful scrutiny of food labels is an essential part of daily life for food allergic individuals and their families. The widespread use of ‘may contain...’ statements is both frustrating and limiting for allergic consumers. This type of precautionary statement can often leave consumers wondering if the product is likely to contain the allergen mentioned and can lead to risk taking. The development of safe allergen thresholds would give the food industry guidelines to work within and would hopefully lead to a welcome reduction in the use of ‘May contain...’ statements.”