Allergens in food: Regulatory landscape, allergen management and analytical challenges

Food allergy is a growing global public health concern. Generally, the prevalence of allergic reaction to foods has been traditionally perceived as being rare in Africa.

With the initiation of the Africa continental free trade area (AfTCA) and the varied regulatory landscape in the region, a comprehensive understanding about the food allergy regulations and the analytical methods used to detect and quantify allergens in food is now critical for food manufacturers and other stakeholders in Africa.

The accurate quantification of proteins in complex and diverse matrices is a uniquely difficult analytical challenge - one that has been compared to finding a needle in a haystack of needles. This difficulty arises from the biological complexity of allergenic species and those comprising the matrix, the diversity in food matrices, interfering components and processing conditions to which the analytes are often subjected. In some cases, it can even be difficult to agree on what the analyte is.

These factors, and how they interact with changing and incomplete clinical and regulatory landscapes can lead to major misinterpretations in results if inappropriate analytical methods are used. Advances and limitations in current food allergen detection methods, analytical result interpretation and their relevance to risk management will be discussed in this AOAC-SSA webinar.

Proposed Programme

• Allergens in Food - a Global Perspective (Prof. Samuel Godefroy, University Laval)
• The Food Allergen Regulatory Landscape In Sub-Saharan Africa (Limbikani Matumba, Lilongwe University of Agriculture & Natural Resources)
• How to Detect a Food Allergen (Dr Karim Dhanani, Facts)
• Food allergen risk management: a retailers perspective (Karin Carstensen, Woolworths)
• Panel Discussion (all speakers)

PROUDLY SPONSORED BY

https://www.factssa.com/

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For any registration assitance, please contact our secretariat through corne@savetcon.co.za

www.aoac-ssafrica.org