UMC Utrecht does allergy tests with novel foods

UMC Utrecht will coordinate an international study that will develop methods to assess the allergic potential of so-called "novel foods" (such as insect burgers). The food allergy research project is called 'Allergenicity Prediction Toolbox for novel foods' (ALLPreT). Kitty Verhoeckx, PhD, assistant professor of food allergy at UMC Utrecht, will coordinate the project of 10 early-stage researchers and 24 international partners.

The introduction of novel foods, such as insects, will greatly contribute to the availability and sustainability of our food supply. However, these novel foods must be safe. The assessment of so-called allergenicity is an essential part of the safety assessment of novel foods. Unfortunately, current methods for assessing allergenicity lack predictive power and have not been validated. As a result, food manufacturers and risk assessors struggle with allergenicity assessment, delaying the availability to consumers of these novel foods. The overall goal of the ALLPreT consortium is to train the next generation of scientists who can address the current shortcomings in the food allergy assessment of novel foods.

Umcutrecht.nl

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