Advances on Allergens Identification and Characterization

Dear Colleagues,

Food-induced allergies are currently one major issue of food safety and food security, representing an emerging problem of public health. They can be triggered by a wide variety of foods, being 90% of the food allergic reactions attributed to eight groups of foods: soybean, peanut, tree nuts, gluten-containing cereals, milk, eggs, fish, and crustaceans. Their ingestion represents a severe and concrete risk for sensitized individuals, who might suffer a diversity of adverse reactions, from mild (oral allergy syndrome, urticaria) to potentially life-threatening, such as anaphylaxis. Since the avoidance of food allergens is the only effective means of protecting the health of allergic individuals, the assessment of labelling compliance is essential to prevent any accidental exposure to the offending foods. The allergenic proteins in foods are diversified in nature (e.g., tropomyosins, albumins, vicilins, and legumins) and their immunoreactivity is associated with the presence of conformational and/or linear epitopes displayed by tri-dimensional folding or linear amino acid sequences, respectively. Any modification on their structure might affect the IgE-binding capacity, which can be the result of food processing, food matrix, or digestibility. Therefore, understanding their impact on molecular structure and allergenic potential is crucial for managing allergen risks in the food chain. This Special Issue intends to gather new analytical methodologies for the detection/identification of food allergens and advances on their characterization. The allergenic properties relating to the exposure of food allergens to new and current food processing technologies and in vitro digestibility are also particularly relevant to this Issue.

Dr. Linda Monaci
Dr. Isabel Mafra
Dr. Joana Costa
Guest Editors

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