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Clinical approaches to evaluation of allergenicity of ingredients |
S. L. TAYLOR, Food Allergy Research & Resource Program, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, 143 Food Industry Complex, Lincoln, NE 68583-0919 Ingredients derived from commonly allergenic foods should be labeled by source, e.g. casein (a milk derivative), unless the ingredient can be documented to present no hazard to consumers with allergies to the source material. Concerns arise primarily with regard to ingredients derived from foods that commonly provoke IgE-mediated food allergies (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, peanuts, soybeans, tree nuts, and wheat). Since the allergens are proteins, the ingredients must contain detectable protein to pose any potential hazard. However, such ingredients may contain small amounts of protein (e.g. lactose from milk, starch from wheat) or altered proteins (e.g. gelatin from fish). The assessment of the potential allergenicity of such ingredients involves double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenges in human subjects with documented allergic reactions to the source material. If 29 such individuals can be identified and challenged, a no-observed adverse effect level (NOAEL) can be defined as the highest dose that fails to provoke an adverse reaction in any of these individuals (0 of 29 provides 95% assurance that 90% of individuals with that allergy will not react to the administered dose of the particular ingredient). Examples will be discussed including peanut oil, soybean oil, and fish gelatin.
Session 1, Allergenicity of food ingredients
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