Before harmonised Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) can be achieved, stakeholders must accept the risk assessment profile of reference doses. In a further step to gaining universal acceptance, researchers have analysed food allergy symptoms recorded in the TNO-FARRP threshold database and shed light on the severity of symptoms caused by low doses of allergenic foods.
The study analysed 1,102 double-blind placebo-controlled food challenges across 11 allergenic foods. It focused on doses at or below the Eliciting Dose (ED10), which is the threshold where up to 10 per cent of allergic individuals exhibit objective symptoms.
On average, 1 to 2 symptoms were observed per positive food challenge, with subjective symptoms, such as itching or discomfort, accounting for 68 per cent of cases. Objective symptoms predominantly affected the skin, such as flushing and erythema (60-71 per cent), followed by reactions in the eyes, nose, and oral cavity (e.g., rhinorrhea, lip swelling). Severe respiratory symptoms like wheezing and swelling of the throat were rare, seen only in 2 cases with the dose amount estimated at ED08.
A risk-based approach for applying PAL is widely considered a solution for improved protection of food allergic consumers and better-informed food choices. The study authors say this research underscores that exposure to doses ≤ ED05 generally results in mild to moderate symptoms for a small subset of allergic individuals. As such, these findings could guide the development of universal risk-based PAL systems, ensuring clearer, science-backed labelling to protect consumers while minimising unnecessary dietary restrictions.
Reference: Blom, W.M., et al. (2025). Symptoms at population Eliciting Doses ≤ED05 for 11 priority allergenic foods are mild to moderate. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 197, 115250. Available with Open Access at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2025.115250.
