Effects of daily food processing on allergenicity

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Allergenicity Studies
• Protein Chemistry

Background:

• Food processing can modify protein structures, potentially altering food allergenicity.
• Understanding these changes is crucial for managing food allergies.
• Various processing methods are employed daily, with varying impacts on allergens.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an updated overview of how common food processing treatments affect food allergenicity.
• To review and discuss the variables influencing these processing-induced allergenicity modifications.
• To cover a wide variety of foods and processing techniques.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing scientific literature on food processing and allergenicity.
• Analysis of studies on thermal treatments (boiling, roasting, frying, baking, microwave, pressure cooking).
• Inclusion of non-thermal treatments (e.g., peeling) and their effects.

Main Results:

• Food processing significantly impacts protein physico-chemical properties, thereby altering allergenicity.
• The extent of allergenicity modification is dependent on processing conditions, food type, and initial allergen content.
• Both thermal and non-thermal processing methods can reduce or, in some cases, potentially increase allergenicity.

Conclusions:

• Daily food processing methods demonstrably alter food allergenicity.
• Processing conditions and food matrices are key determinants of the final allergenic potential.
• Further research is needed to fully elucidate the complex interactions between processing and food allergens across diverse food products.