Food allergens

12 important questions on Food allergens

What is celiac disease?

A hypersensitivity reaction against gluten, gluten is a family of proteins present in cereal or wheat.
Protein called gliadin.
HLA DQ2/DQ8 present to an antigen presenting Tell which causes response and deformity or changes of epithelial tissue.

Is celiac disease an allergy?

No, it is not, it is more like an auto-immune disorder

Is lactose intolerance an allergy?

No, a food hypersensitivity, where the body produces not really enzyme lactase enough or at all anymore, which causes digesting problems, mostly seen in countries excluding Europe and the US.
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Can biological amines be an allergy?

No, hypersensitivity to histamine (derived from histadine, amino acid) and tryptamines (derived from trypthohan, amino-acid).
Can be found in for example strawberries, tryptophan can be present in fermented products like, cheeses, wine, chocolate, fish, sauerkraut.
DAOD amino oxidase not very present for breakdown, but no involvement of immune system.

Clinical symptoms of allergen exposure?

Skin - atopic dermatitis, rash
Gut - food allergy, vomiting, cramps
nose - rhinitis, runny nose, hay fever
lungs - astmha

Difference between hyper- and hypo-allergenic proteins?

Hyper often involved
Hypo rarely

In the immune system distinction between innate immunity and adaptive immunity, what's the difference?

Innate: born with, quite fast, less specific, little or no memory "the hooligans"
Adaptive: learns from exposure, is slow (days), very specific, and memorizes "the detectives"

Difference sensitisation and elicitation?

Sensitisation is immune system getting ready, elicitation is immune system reaction and actually causing allergic reaction

IgE cross reactivity.

Starts with hay fever of birch pollen, can then cause also cherry, apple or carrot allergy

What instruments can be used by food scientists for detection of allergens/allergies?

Physico-chemically based - mass spectrometry
very sensitive, drawback only says something about presence, not if still can cause reaction
molecular-biological - PCR
sensitive, but measures not proteins
Antibody-binding - IgG, IgE    
IgG - physical presnet not allergenicity
IgE less sensitive, sera difficult to obtain, variable compositions

ethical hurdles, medical supervision

What instruments can be use by doctors for diagnosis?

- double-blind placebo controlled food challenge DBPCFC
golden standard, costly, burdensome, and no info at protein level
- skin prick test
meausres sensitisation, no 1:1 relation with clinical reactions
-antibody binding IgE  
meausres sensitisation, no 1:1 relation with clinical reactions

What is a novel food?

Food and food ingredients not been used for human consumption in EU before may 1997

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