Food processing and food matrix effects on allergenicity

Heating and other methods of food processing have different effects on food allergens. New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine has conducted a review of recent research in this area to consolidate what is known of these effects.

While heating decreases the allergenicity of many foods due to changes in the conformational epitopes of the allergenic protein, evidence suggests heat-induced glycation of certain peanut and shrimp proteins may increase their allergenicity.

The authors report that the effects of different food matrices are complex and poorly understood. Interactions of allergen proteins with other proteins, fat, and carbohydrates impact on how the allergen will react to different processing methods, and structural homology of the proteins is also not a reliable means to predict the effect of processing on allergenicity.

Studies included in the review indicated the majority of milk and egg-allergic children can tolerate baked wheat products containing extensively heated milk and egg. However, when coupled with the myriad of biological interactions with food proteins that occur within the body, such as gut-associated lymphoid tissue and IgE sensitisation pathways, there is still a vast amount unknown in this field.

Reference: Nowak-Wegrzyn & Fiocchi. Current Opinion in Allergy & Clinical Immunology 2009 Vol 9(3) pp. 234-7