A big welcome to Fonterra who have recently become our newest Allergen Bureau Member Company by signing up for the 2008 Membership Year, which starts on 1 April 2008.

With so many Membership Benefits on offer, isn’t it time you Joined Us too?

The UK Food Standards Agency has published new allergen management guidance targeted at businesses selling food that is not packaged, such as restaurants, cafés, deli counters, sandwich bars and bakeries.

The following is a short review of research recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine:
Vadas et al, "Platelet-Activating Factor, PAF Acetylhydrolase, and Severe Anaphylaxis" NEJM Vol. 358:28-35 January, 2008 Number 1. For further information about this study, please contact the Allergen Bureau.

Current prophylactic feeding guidelines recommend a delayed introduction of solids for the prevention of atopic diseases. A recently-published study investigated whether such a delay (past 4 or 6 months) is protective against the development of eczema, asthma, allergic rhinitis, and food or inhalant sensitization at the age of 6 years.

Beijing 12-13 September 2007

The following article is adapted from a report kindly provided by Donna Kippax at FACTA Australia. Rob Sherlock from FACTA Australia was a speaker at the conference, and presented on allergens and allergen management. View the official CIFSQ 2007 conference report.

The Allergen Bureau serves as a central receptacle for information about allergen management that is relevant to the Australian and New Zealand food industry. To ensure the Allergen Bureau remains a valuable asset to industry, we ask you to be our eyes and ears, to provide papers, events, reviews, website links and other useful information for us to post on the website. The website is updated regularly, and all contributions and feedback will be gratefully received.