29 May 2014

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on the draft scientific opinion on the evaluation of allergenic foods and food ingredients for labelling purposes. This document updates previous EFSA opinions relating to food ingredients or substances with known allergenic potential, including cereals containing gluten.

It includes information on the prevalence of food allergy in unselected populations, on proteins identified as food allergens, on cross-reactivities, on the effects of food processing on allergenicity of foods and ingredients, on methods for the detection of allergens and allergenic foods, on doses observed to trigger adverse reactions in sensitive individuals, and on the approaches which have been used to derive thresholds for selected allergenic foods. 

This consultation may be of interest to food manufacturers, food scientists, experts in gluten testing, allergy specialists, researchers and healthcare professionals. Interested parties are invited to submit written comments by 8 August 2014. The consultation document and submission form are available on the EFSA website.