Food Intolerance including Food Allergy Research Programme (T07)

The Food Intolerance research programme was established in 1994 and the current objectives are:

• To identify the risk factors (e.g. genetic, environmental, dietary and other risk factors) associated with the development of sensitisation to food proteins and the development of clinical food allergy, particularly in the early life stages of the individual. Knowledge of these factors and how they influence the development of sensitisation and allergy will enable us to develop appropriate advice for consumers to reduce the risk of development of food allergy.
• To investigate the immunological mechanisms of food allergy to understand, at the immunological level, what factors are important in determining/regulating the allergic versus tolerant status.
• To determine the prevalence of food allergy (both total food allergy and the prevalence of allergy to individual foods) in the UK in infants, children and adults, and whether prevalence is changing over time.
• To develop the best research approach and methods to investigate whether there is any association between intolerance to certain foods and children’s behaviour.
• To develop suitable methods for the detection of allergens in food.
• To determine what factors influence the severity of allergic reactions to foods.

This programme of research will provide information about the fundamental basis of factors that influence the development of food allergy. This will be of use in:

• providing advice to food allergic and food intolerant consumers and to the general public;
• providing information on food allergy an intolerance to the healthcare profession and the food and catering industries;
• determining the prevalence of food allergy and any change with time; and
• developing methods for detecting allergens in food.

The number of individuals suffering from allergic reactions to food appears to be increasing in line with a general increase in allergy in the UK, such as asthma and eczema.
As many as one in 70 UK children may now react to peanuts; indeed, peanut allergy is the most common cause of severe (fatal and near fatal) allergic reaction to foods, causing 30% of all cases of anaphylaxis outside the hospital. The Food Standards Agency carries out work on food allergy in order to find out more about how it develops.

Name: Sarah Hardy
Tel: 020 7276 8532
Email: sarah.hardy@foodstandards.gsi.gov.uk