Publication Detail
| Evaluation of scientific criteria for identifying allergenic foods of public health importance |
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J. van Bilsen, S. Ronsmans et al. Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology 2011; 60:281-289
Identification of allergenic foods of public health importance should be based on well-defined criteria.
Björkstén et al. (2008) proposed that the criteria should assess the evidence for an IgE mechanism, the
reaction, the potency and the severity of the effect of the food and its prevalence. This study evaluated
the application of the proposed criteria based on published reports. Publications were selected from
two databases to test whether the descriptions for ranking the level of evidence for each criterion were
unambiguous and covered the full range of levels of evidence regarding seven foods, five known to be
allergenic and two negative controls. The options available to rank the quality of evidence were appropriate
but needed refinement to improve clarity and conceptual value. The criteria were helpful to assess
known IgE-dependent allergens, and to exclude the non-allergenic substances. The criteria framework
discriminated between papers with high, moderate and low quality of evidence. The advantage of using
the proposed criteria is to make the decision-making process and rationale explicit. The framework helps
to identify gaps in knowledge and to uncover the level of heterogeneity of the evidence thus guiding
research and providing a basis for sound risk management decisions.
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