Effects of Food Processing on Allergenicity

Area of Science:

• Food science and immunology
• Clinical allergy research
• Dietary management of food hypersensitivity

Background:

• Food processing significantly influences food allergenicity.
• Understanding these modifications is crucial for managing food allergies.
• Processing can potentially lead to dietary liberation and novel immunotherapy approaches.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide healthcare professionals with an updated overview of research on processed foods and allergenicity.
• To summarize studies assessing processed food allergenicity using clinical methods.
• To inform clinical practice regarding the impact of food processing on allergy management.

Main Methods:

• Review of clinical studies on processed food allergenicity.
• Assessment of methods including oral food challenges, skin prick tests, and specific immunoglobulin E (sIgE) levels.
• Analysis of factors influencing allergenicity changes during processing (temperature, duration, matrix).

Main Results:

• Various processing methods (baking, boiling, fermentation) heterogeneously affect allergenicity across different food types (egg, milk, peanut, etc.).
• Baking, in particular, often decreases allergenicity, facilitating tolerance in milk- and egg-allergic individuals and use in oral immunotherapy (OIT).
• Predicting tolerance to processed allergens via skin prick tests and sIgE remains challenging; roasting may increase allergenicity, while other methods can reduce it.

Conclusions:

• Food processing offers potential for reduced allergenicity, enabling dietary liberation and immunotherapy.
• Baking and heat treatments show promise for managing milk and egg allergies.
• Further large-scale clinical studies are needed to explore the application of food processing in allergy treatments.