Award details

The prevalence, cost and basis of food allergy across Europe (EuroPrevall)

Reference	BBS/E/F/00041800
Principal Investigator / Supervisor	Professor Clare Mills
Co-Investigators / Co-Supervisors
Institution	Quadram Institute Bioscience
Department	Quadram Institute Bioscience Department
Funding type	Research
Value (£)	1,160,582
Status	Completed
Type	Institute Project
Start date	01/06/2005
End date	31/12/2009
Duration	55 months

Abstract

EuroPrevall aims to deliver improved quality of life for food allergic people. This will be achieved by integrating information and developing tools for use by European food allergy scientists, health professionals, food and biotech industries, and consumers - those who are food allergic and those who are not. Many of these benefits will be realised through exploitation of research results by SME industries. More specifically, EuroPrevall will: 1) Characterise the patterns and prevalence of food allergies across Europe in infants [birth cohort in 5 centres], children and adults [cross-sectional surveys in 10 centres]. These wider- population studies will be complemented by more detailed studies based on referrals to allergy clinics at 12 centres. 2) Use samples and information from the surveys to identify risk factors (e.g. environmental, microbial or genetic) and novel predictive markers (e.g. biochemical and genetic) for food allergy, which would allow implementation of preventive measures (e.g. during pregnancy). 3) Develop serological methods based on purified food allergens (component resolved diagnosis), including conventional and novel formats - using post-genomics technologies - to improve the quality of food allergy diagnosis, reducing the need for food challenge tests. 4) Investigate how the food matrix affects allergenicity of foods, including food processing procedures, and develop new reference materials for food challenges, which are truly blind and based on real foods (e.g. confectionary). 5) Create and apply instruments to determine the impact of food allergies on the quality of life and its economic cost for food allergic people and their families, workplace and employers, and healthcare.

Summary

unavailable

Committee	Closed Committee - Agri-food (AF)
Research Topics	Diet and Health, Immunology, Microbiology
Research Priority	X – Research Priority information not available
Research Initiative	X - not in an Initiative
Funding Scheme	X – not Funded via a specific Funding Scheme

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