Handbook of Food Allergen Detection and Control: (Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition)

Allergens in food and their detection, management and elimination constitute a key issue for food manufacturers, especially in terms of safety. This book reviews current and emerging technologies for detecting and reducing allergens, as well as issues such as traceability, regulation and consumer attitudes. Following an introductory chapter by a distinguished expert, part one covers allergen management throughout the food chain. Part two details current and emerging methods of allergen detection in food, and part three covers methods for reducing and eliminating allergens in food. Finally, part four focuses on the control and detection of individual food allergens and the risks each one presents in food manufacture.

Table of Contents:
List of contributors Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition 1: Introduction to food allergy Abstract 1.1 Introduction: what is food allergy? 1.2 Other food intolerances 1.3 Food allergy prevalence and patterns 1.4 What is a food allergen? 1.5 Food allergen risk management 1.6 The value of having food allergen data 1.7 Challenges and considerations in food allergen analysis 1.8 Conclusions Part One: Managing allergens in the food chain 2: Traceability of allergenic foods in the food chain Abstract 2.1 Introduction 2.2 Legislation, standards and guidance 2.3 Traceability systems 2.4 Analytical methods used in traceability investigations 2.5 Conclusions 3: Food allergen risk assessment and management Abstract 3.1 Introduction 3.2 Food allergy as a public health issue 3.3 Risk assessment for food allergens: background and issues 3.4 Development of risk assessment for food allergens 3.5 Practical aspects of risk assessment 3.6 Risk management 3.7 Conclusions 4: Assessment and communication of allergen risks in the food chain Abstract 4.1 Introduction 4.2 Principles and methods 4.3 Allergen risk assessment and hazard characterisation 4.4 Risk communication 4.5 Risk assessment to allergen control plan 4.6 Current research and future trends 4.7 Conclusions 5: Hygienic design and cleaning as an allergen control measure Abstract 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Hygienic design: regulations and norms 5.3 Hygienic equipment design 5.4 Hygienic building design 5.5 Integrating hygienic systems/hygienic engineering 5.6 Cleaning as an allergen control measure 5.7 Allergen cleaning: verification and validation 6: Effective allergen management practices to reduce allergens in food Abstract 6.1 Introduction 6.2 The retailer’s perspective 6.3 The allergy journey 6.4 Labelling and packaging 6.5 Marks & Spencer packaging evolution 6.6 Allergen management risk assessment 6.7 Marks & Spencer’s risk assessment process 6.8 Factory standards and controls 6.9 Gluten-free 6.10 Next steps Acknowledgements 7: Consumer attitudes to allergens in foods Abstract 7.1 Introduction 7.2 Which consumers are avoiding foods and why? 7.3 What information do these consumers need? 7.4 Living with food allergy 7.5 Information from packaging 7.6 Challenges for consumers at different stages of life 7.7 Summary of consumer needs 7.8 How can food suppliers ensure consumer confidence and trust? 7.9 Conclusions and future trends 7.10 Sources of further information and advice Acknowledgements 8: Assessing and managing allergenicity of genetically modified (GM) foods Abstract 8.1 Introduction 8.2 Assessing the allergenicity of novel proteins 8.3 Key steps in allergenicity assessment 8.4 Environmental factors affecting allergenicity 8.5 Assessing the allergenicity of whole GM plants 8.6 Assessing the allergenicity of products from GM animals 8.7 Post-market monitoring 8.8 Conclusion Part Two: Detecting allergens in food 9: Sampling for food allergens Abstract 9.1 Introduction 9.2 Reasons to sample for food allergens and sampling plans 9.3 Approaches to sampling 9.4 Sample types 9.5 Quality of the sample 9.6 Future trends 10: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) for detecting allergens in food Abstract 10.1 Introduction 10.2 Principles of an enzyme immunoassay 10.3 Main components of ELISA 10.4 Detection issues relating to particular allergens: egg, milk, nuts, prolamins and glutelins 10.5 Validation, characteristical parameters of ELISA and collaborative studies 10.6 Conclusions 11: Lateral flow devices for detecting allergens in food Abstract 11.1 Introduction 11.2 Lateral flow devices 11.3 Development of a lateral flow device 11.4 Key issues in using lateral flow devices 11.5 Future trends 11.6 Conclusions 11.7 Sources of further information and advice 12: Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensors for detecting allergens in food Abstract 12.1 Introduction 12.2 Development of an SPR food allergen biosensor 12.3 Applications of SPR for food allergen detection: peanuts 12.4 Detection of shellfish toxins with SPR 12.5 High-throughput food allergen profiling with imaging SPR 12.6 Future trends 12.7 Conclusions 13: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods for detecting allergens in foods Abstract 13.1 Introduction 13.2 Advantages of PCR for allergen detection 13.3 PCR principles and methods 13.4 Multi-allergen detection and quantification with PCR 13.5 PCR performance characteristics 13.6 Conclusions and future trends 14: Optical thin film biochips for detecting allergens in food Abstract 14.1 Introduction 14.2 Principles of optical thin film biochips 14.3 Applications for detection of allergenic foods 14.4 Advantages and disadvantages of optical thin film biosensor chip assays 14.5 Future trends 14.6 Conclusions 15: IgE antibody-based analysis for detecting allergens in food Abstract 15.1 Introduction 15.2 General considerations 15.3 IgE antibody-based in vivo assay for food allergen potency assessment 15.4 IgE antibody-based in vitro assays for food allergen potency assessment 15.5 Applications in the detection of peanuts 15.6 Allergosorbent competitive inhibition assay: strengths and weaknesses 15.7 Future trends Appendix: abbreviations 16: Validation, standardisation and harmonisation of analytical methods and test kits for detecting allergens in food Abstract 16.1 Introduction 16.2 Different methods for the detection of allergens in food 16.3 Comparing the different methods 16.4 Limitations of the different methods and how they can be overcome 16.5 Importance of validation and good practices 16.6 Challenges of standardisation and harmonisation of analytical methods 16.7 Future trends Part Three: Case studies: detection and control of specific food allergens 17: Detection and control of eggs as a food allergen Abstract 17.1 Introduction 17.2 Egg allergy 17.3 Egg allergens 17.4 Detection of egg allergens 17.5 Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) 17.6 Other techniques: western blots, lateral flow and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) devices 17.7 Future trends 17.8 Conclusion 18: Detection and control of soybeans as a food allergen Abstract 18.1 Introduction 18.2 Soybeans and their food uses 18.3 Soybean allergy: prevalence and potency 18.4 Clinical manifestations and severity of soybean allergy 18.5 Soybean allergens 18.6 Detection of soy residues 18.7 Control of soy residues in food manufacturing facilities 18.8 Future trends 18.9 Conclusions 18.10 Sources of further information and advice 19: Detection and control of gluten as a food allergen Abstract 19.1 Introduction 19.2 Pathogenesis of celiac disease (CD) 19.3 Testing of gluten toxicity 19.4 Current EU labeling and codex guidelines 19.5 Methods for measurement of gluten contamination in foods 19.6 Future trends and summary 20: Detection and control of fish, shellfish and molluscs as food allergens Abstract 20.1 Introduction 20.2 Classification of seafood and seafood protein characteristics 20.3 Seafood as allergens 20.4 Epidemiology of seafood allergy 20.5 Manifestations of seafood allergies 20.6 Management of seafood allergies 20.7 Summary and future trends 21: Detection and control of mustard and sesame as food allergens Abstract 21.1 Introduction 21.2 Mustard as an allergen 21.3 The major allergic proteins in mustard 21.4 Detection of mustard allergens and markers in food 21.5 Sesame as an allergen 21.6 The major allergic proteins in sesame 21.7 Detection of sesame allergens and markers in food 21.8 Future trends Index

About the Author :
Simon Flanagan is an internationally acclaimed specialist in the field of food allergens. He is a biochemist by training and gained experience of working in a variety of sectors within the food industry before joining Reading Scientific Services Ltd (RSSL) in 2002. In his RSSL role Simon has worked with global blue-chip manufacturers, retailers and ingredient suppliers, as well as manufacturers of specialist dietary products to provide guidance on risk assessment, risk mitigation and management and analytical techniques for allergen detection in foods. Simon’s remit involved a broad scope of projects, from futureproofing corporate allergen policy through to independent expert site risk assessment and training programs and incident management. Since 2005 Simon has been a key advisor to the Cadbury and more latterly Kraft / Mondelēz International on allergen control and responsible for developing policy, strategy and training. In 2016 Simon became an extended member of the Food Safety Team and is currently the Global Lead for Food Allergens and Food Allergy advising the business on both proactive allergen strategy and reactive lead for allergen incidents. Simon is affiliated with numerous professional bodies, industry groups and technical committees (ILSI Europe, FDF, BRC, EFSA, FSA, FARRP, FAO/WHO) and has published numerous articles in peer reviewed journals. He was also principal editor for the ‘Handbook of Food Allergen Detection and Control’. He was presented with a technical leadership award in 2014 for contributions to food safety and a SOFHT industry award for the development of RSSL’s practical allergen workshops. He was also awarded ‘Food and Drink Scientist of the Year’ at the FDF awards in 2018. Simon was one of the first to develop a practical methodology for quantitative allergen risk assessment (QRA), which is becoming widely accepted as industry best practice; QRA was recently recommended by The WHO/FAO Ad-Hoc expert group on Food Allergen Risk Assessment for the application of Precautionary Allergen Labelling.