Risk-based approaches in food allergy

Food allergy has been recognized already in early history as a condition triggered in some individuals upon consumptions of specific foods. However, its recognition as an essential element to be addressed in food safety management is of much more recent date. As a consequence, risk assessment and risk management practices for food allergy are less well established and harmonized and significantly lag behind those for chemical and microbiological hazards. Nevertheless, in most regions of the world, assessment and management of risks of allergens in food are nowadays regulatory required, while the science underlying the assessment of allergenic hazards and risks has developed well during last decades. In this chapter, a brief history, state-of-the-art, and possible future improvements of the allergenicity risk analysis are described, with a focus on ingredients and residues from allergenic foods intentionally or unintentionally present in food, and allergenicity of proteins in novel food supply.