Inflammatory compounds found in cooked meat are linked to a heightened risk of childhood wheeze, according to research published online in the journal Thorax.
Faecal microbiota transplantation is arguably more effective in managing asthma than current treatments and even probiotics, say two scientists, who call for more research into its use.
Asthmatic children may be more vulnerable to obesity in later life as new work identifies the chronic lung condition as a risk factor for extreme weight gain and its associated metabolic disorders.
A high intake of cured and processed meat can worsen asthma symptoms over time, according to French researchers who used a novel analytical method to take into account obesity as a mediator.
Industry could soon be able to reduce food allergy risk by modifying culprit proteins, say researchers who have filed patents on allergen-reducing technology.
Communication in the supply chain is ‘the basics’ when dealing with potential allergens, according to the European external quality manager at General Mills.
The difference between validation and verification of cleaning, allergen risk assessment and confusion around ‘may contain’ labelling statements where some debated topics during an industry conference last week.
Guidance documents on allergen control in meat plants and selecting a microbiological testing lab have been created by a US university and an industry association.
Better defined thresholds at which common allergens trigger reactions in a majority of allergic consumers could improve ‘may contain’ labelling, according to researchers from the University of Manchester.
A lack of fermentable fibres in people's diet may pave the way for allergic inflammatory reactions such as asthma - and increasing intake of these fibres could help battle asthma, according to new research.
Food allergy sufferers are more likely to be murdered than to die from a severe reaction – but allergen labelling is about much more than fatality risk, says an allergen expert.
Emerging technologies could help expose more detailed allergen profiles of food and food ingredients than have previously been possible, suggest researchers.
Listeria, Salmonella and undeclared allergens were the source of the greatest number of incidents of food contamination logged in the latest US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) report.
An international study into food allergies has been launched which hopes to establish a standardised approach to allergen management for companies involved in food manufacturing.
The world's biggest study of food allergies will see global experts and industry leaders including Unilever and Eurofins join forces to produce develop new standards and processes for allergen management in food production.
The European Academy of Anaphylaxis and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) has said it will push for stricter EU legislation on allergen labelling, saying that current laws on ‘may contain’ labelling are insufficient to protect those with food allergies.
Hospital admissions for children with severe allergic reactions have increased seven-fold in the past decade – so how should food makers ensure labels reflect different levels of risk when a food may not be 100% allergen-free?
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has commenced a nationwide survey investigating how voluntary allergen labelling relates to contaminant traces found in pre-packed products across the UK.
Mothers who consume low-fat yogurt products during pregnancy may give birth to children with a higher risk of developing allergies such as asthma and hay fever, a study has found.
Allergen labelling comes under the spotlight in the UK, with a new Food Standards Agency (FSA) survey aiming to get insight into the relevance of current approaches.
UK-based food and ingredients company EHL claims to have seen a “sharp increase” in sales of its allergen-free curry powder, which were up 35 per cent over the last year.
Blocking the consumption of potentially allergic foods in early life does not lead to a reduction in reactions later in childhood, according to new research.
People with food allergies and intolerances in the UK have the more new products to meet their dietary needs than consumers in other major European markets, indicates data from Mintel, but there has been a general increase in launches across the EU in...
As allergy diagnoses among children continue to rise, a new online calculator is said to provide fast, cheap and highly accurate predictions, with potential implications for better-targeted on-pack allergen labelling.
The food industry has a responsibility to label allergenic ingredients as big and bold as they can – but also not to over-egg the slimmest of slim possibilities that a trace amount of an allergen may have slipped into a product.
A new international study has shed light on food allergy sufferers' preferred formats for receiving information on allergens in food products, and indicated that novel intelligent communication technologies, such as hand-held scanners, are not suitable...
Advances in food technology bring new challenges for allergy sufferers, regulators and industry, finds a new study, as proteins are can be unexpectedly present in functional foods.
German researchers are aiming to develop rapid detection systems to identify allergenic substances in foodstuffs, according to a workshop on analytical methods for allergen detection staged in Berlin this week.
Significant progress on defining action levels/thresholds for the unintentional presence of allergens such as peanuts, milk and eggs is expected in 2012.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) in the UK has published an allergen guidance paper that aims to curb excessive use of precautionary ‘may contain’ labelling.
Food allergies are under-recognised risk factors for asthma, suggests a new study from the US that also found greater allergy incidence in children, men and black people than other sectors of the population.
2009 saw a significant rise in EU allergen warnings relating to undeclared milk ingredients and sulphites, according to the annual report of union food safety reporting body the RASFF.
Use of a common symbol to indicate the presence of individual allergens in food and personal care products could help allergy sufferers identify products to avoid – especially in multi-lingual communities, say specialists from Imperial College.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency is working on improving allergen labelling and control practices used by industry, with investigations set to kick off in November at an open meeting with researchers.
Low-fat ice cream made with GM yeast to ensure a creamy consistency may soon be possible in Europe following the European Food Standards Authority’s (EFSA) opinion on Unilever’s novel technology.
A flavonoid-rich extract from purple passion fruit may ease
wheezing amongst asthmatics, suggest findings from a randomised,
placebo-controlled, double-blind trial.
Claiming 'free from' is not a light statement to make. Lives depend
on it. As scientific progress questions the validity of such
claims, it is time to establish exact guidelines and communicate
these to people for whom ingredients...
