CNR-ISPA was awarded the EFSA grant on food allergens under the call GP/EFSA/AFSCO/2017/03 “Detection and quantification of allergens in foods and minimum eliciting doses in food allergic individuals”

The project partnership formed from five organizations distributed in four different member states (UK, IT, BE and FR), brings together the group led by Mills at the University of Manchester in the UK with a renowned knowledge in food allergy and allergenic proteins with the group from CNR-ISPA led by Dr. Monaci with advanced analytical skills in allergen detection by LC-MS methods Other members of the consortium expert in the field are ILVO and CER in Belgium and INRA in France.

The overall cost of the project is 752.000 euros for three years; it will address two main objectives:

1) Develop reference (harmonised) methodologies for the detection and quantification of allergens in foods that will be led by Dr. Linda Monaci. This objective aims at developing a harmonised quantitative MS-based prototype reference method for the detection of multiple food allergens (based on six priority allergens, namely cow’s milk, hen’s egg, soybean, peanut, hazelnut and almond) in standardised incurred food matrices. The matrices will include reference and/or quality control materials already available and produce additional complementary materials in a food pilot plant thus mimicking, as far as possible “real world” manufactured foods.

2) Generate good quality data on Minimum Eliciting Doses (MED) and Minimum Observed Eliciting Doses (MOED) led by Prof. Clare. Mills. The objective will seek to collate and curate existing data from several sources to provide a publicly accessible curated, data-analysis data set.

Dr. Linda Monaci with the support of Dr. Rosa Pilolli of the food allergen team located in Bari will coordinate all the activities of the consortium included into Objective 1

Contact:
Dr. Linda Monaci
Linda.monaci@ispa.cnr.it
CNR-ISPA (Bari, IT)