France - Recommendations for better monitoring food allergies
After the request from the Ministry of Health, ANSES has recently published an opinion on the monitoring of food allergies: the progress of new scientific data and the proposal for guidelines for better managing this issue are the main topics.
By changing dietary habits and the introduction of novel foods on the market, food allergies remain a public health concern and the Agency notes a lack of data on the prevalence of food allergies in France. The opinion lists several remarks to ensure better monitoring of food allergies and a recommendation to regularly update the list of allergens is warmly advised. Therefore, the surveillance network allowed the identification of emerging allergens: buckwheat, goat’s milk and ewes, kiwi, pine nut, α-galactose (present in mammalian meat), peas and lentils as they are a risk sometimes higher than that of other allergens that must be quoted on the label (EU Regulation no. 1169/2011).
Source: ANSES website