Cross-reactivity and Allergen risk assessments

Up to 34% of people think they suffer from an allergy and about 22% of people avoid certain foods. In reality, only 1 – 6% test positive for food allergies.

Food allergy appears to be the most common trigger for anaphylaxis. 30 – 50% of anaphylactic episodes could be attributed to foods. In children, food is responsible for up to 85% of anaphylactic episodes. The most common adult food allergies are shellfish and nuts, while in children the most common allergies are peanut, tree nuts, milk and egg.

Food allergy was recognised as a safety issue in the late nineties. Since then, a system has been developed to define the risk to a consumer when an allergen is present in a product. This system makes use of risk assessments based on clinical threshold levels. The method that is currently considered as the gold standard in allergen testing, namely ELISA, generates a quantitative result which can then be used for a risk assessment.

There are however some drawbacks to ELISA methods: they often suffer from cross-reactivity inconsistencies between test kits and target antibodies lead to differences in results.

This study aims to look at how cross-reactivity and differences in results affect the local South African food industry and related risk assessments.  

Jana Coetzee’s poster will be on display at this year’s SAAFoST Congress 2019. For any queries on Allergen Testing, Allergen Management or Allergen Risk Assessments please email contact us.