Evidence runs contrary to digestive stability predicting protein allergenicity

Area of Science:

• Food science
• Allergenicity
• Protein chemistry

Background:

• A prevailing scientific dogma suggests food allergens are more resistant to digestion than non-allergenic proteins.
• This concept has influenced regulatory frameworks for assessing novel food protein allergenicity.
• Over two decades of research have yielded limited empirical evidence to support this correlation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine the long-standing assumption linking protein digestive stability to allergenic potential.
• To explore the reasons why empirical data have failed to confirm this widely accepted link.
• To provide a scientific rationale for reconsidering the role of digestive stability in allergen risk assessment.

Main Methods:

• Review of existing scientific literature and empirical data on protein digestion and allergenicity.
• Analysis of methodologies used in studies assessing protein digestive stability.
• Critical evaluation of the correlation between digestive stability assays and protein allergenic status.

Main Results:

• Empirical evidence accumulated over 20+ years largely fails to confirm a direct correlation between digestive stability and a protein's allergenic status.
• Despite a lack of confirming evidence, the dogma persists, with some attributing the shortfall to assay design rather than a lack of causality.
• The review highlights fundamental reasons why digestive stability may not be a reliable predictor of allergenic potential.

Conclusions:

• The assumption that food allergens are inherently more stable to digestion than non-allergenic proteins is not robustly supported by scientific evidence.
• Digestive stability assays may not be a valid measure for predicting the allergenic risk of food proteins.
• Re-evaluation of current regulatory approaches to food protein allergenicity assessment is warranted, moving beyond the simplistic reliance on digestive stability.