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The mechanistic, clinical and therapeutic aspects of this disease were treated by the speakers with sessions dedicated to particular allergens and notably the impact of food processing on their allergenicity.

In the session on food engineering, Sandra Denery was invited to give a presentation on the impact of the functionalization of plant proteins on their allergenicity. She gave some examples from wheat proteins and in particular modified gluten, which illustrate how a very simple chemical reaction could have encouraged the development of a new food allergy in several countries (France, Japan, Denmark).

Roberta Lupi, a post-doctoral fellow in our unit, was invited to provide an update on new techniques applied to the characterization of allergens. After a brief description of the methods traditionally used in laboratories, she showed the interest of mass spectrometry and in particular MRM (Multiple Reaction Monitoring) to identify and quantify allergens in food matrices. She then presented in vitro methods and cell models used to characterize the impact of processes on protein allergenicity.