Exploring allergy to novel foods in the Western countries: current and future perspectives

The demographic increase, environmental concerns, and heightened awareness about health have led Western countries to consider edible sources previously overlooked. The novelty of these sources implies a scarce knowledge about their allergenicity.

This review has the purpose of offering an arranged view about the allergenicity of different categories of novel foods, such as edible insects, new plant-based foods, and microalgae, by exploring cross-reactivity and common traits with other food allergies but also specific peculiarities. A particular regard is reserved for the framework in Western countries.

Increasing efforts have been directed in the last years to identify dangerous cross-reactive allergens in novel foods, i.e. tropomyosin. On the other hand, eventual primary sensitizations should also be considered, especially for idiopathic anaphylaxis. In view of the partial knowledge about the allergenic potential of the novel sources, the education of the patient on this topic (particularly those with known food allergies), and an appropriate labeling of product's packages may reveal helpful to minimize the risk.