HESI Workshop on “Food Allergy and Safety Assessment”

The 15-16 April 2013 Food Allergy and Safety Assessment Workshop in Beijing, China, was co-sponsored by the HESI Protein Allergenicity Technical Committee, the ILSI Focal Point in China, the ILSI International Food Biotechnology Committee (IFBiC), the China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, and the China Key Laboratory on Food Safety Risk Assessment of the Ministry of Health. The objectives of the workshop were to describe the state of the science in assessing protein allergenicity, toxicity, and composition analysis of biotechnology-based food crops; identify and discuss accepted standards as well as innovative approaches being utilized to address clinical allergy; and discuss the safety framework for genetically modified crops, the regulatory approval processes, and how they are implemented globally. Clinicians reviewed allergy prevalence and study design strategies. Approximately 180 participants attended, most of whom were from Chinese government and academic institutions. The workshop proceedings will be published in the Chinese Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Workshop Materials

BIOS-Food Allergy Safety Assessment Workshop-April 2013-Beijing
FINAL PROGRAM-Food Allergy Safety Assessment Workshop-April 2013-Beijing
HESI PATC Summary-April 2013

Workshop Presentations

About the HESI Protein Allergenicity Technical Committee (PATC)
Dr. Gregory Ladics (DuPont Pioneer, USA)

Session I: Food Allergy

Food Allergy Introduction, Etiology, and Mechanisms
Prof. Lars K. Poulsen (Copenhagen University Hospital at Gentofte, Denmark)

Prevalence of Food Allergy in Indonesia and Developing Countries; Role of Infections in the Development of Food Allergy
Prof. Maria Yazdanbakhsh (Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands)

Food Allergy Diagnosis / Clinical Assessment
Prof. Barbara Ballmer-Weber (University Hospital Zürich, Switzerland)

Component-Resolved Diagnosis of Peach and Mugwort Allergy and Cross-Reactivity in China
Prof. Gao Zhong-shan (Zhejiang University, China)

Epidemiology and Clinical Features of Food Allergenicity in China
Lianglu Wang, MD (Peking Union Medical College Hospital, China)

Session II: Agricultural Biotechnology Safety Assessment

Agricultural Biotechnology Background
Dr. Wendelyn Jones (DuPont Pioneer, USA)

Safety Assessment Process to Register GM Products
Dr. Wendelyn Jones (DuPont Pioneer, USA)

Crop Composition Assessment
Dr. Xiaoyun He (College of Food Science & Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University)

Molecular/Protein Characterization of GM Products
Dr. Scott McClain (Syngenta, USA)

Allergy Assessment
Dr. Gregory Ladics (DuPont Pioneer, USA)

Toxicity Assessment
Prof. Andrew Bartholomaeus (University of Canberra; University of Queensland)

Ecological Risk Assessment
Prof. Alan Raybould (Syngenta, UK)

Detection Methods [awaiting revised presentation]
Dr. Petra Lutter (Nestle Research Centre, Switzerland)

GM Product Case Study
Dr. Jason Ward (Monsanto Company, USA)

Regulatory Perspective: Australia, New Zealand
Prof. Andrew Bartholomaeus (University of Canberra; University of Queensland; formerly FSANZ [Food Standards Australia New Zealand])

Regulatory Perspective: China
Prof. Haibin Xu (China National Centre for Food Safety Risk Assessment)

Safety Assessment in China
Prof. Xue Wang (China National Center for Safety Evaluation of Drugs)