Food Risk Analysis and Regulatory Excellence Platform (PARERA), Department of Food Science and Institute of Nutrition and Functional Foods (INAF), Laval University, Quebec, Canada.
Department of Heavy Metals and Colorants, Lebanese Agricultural Research Institute, Beirut, Lebanon.
Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2021 Apr;38(4):550-562. doi: 10.1080/19440049.2021.1881622. Epub 2021 Mar 5.
Sesame allergy is a public health problem in many countries around the world. The purpose of this study is to determine the occurrence of sesame allergen in unlabelled or labelled free-sesame Middle Eastern foods with or without Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) 'may contain' and estimate the risk incurred by the Canadian population allergic to sesame with a focus on products purchased in Middle Eastern grocery stores and bakeries in Montreal, Canada. A total of 571 samples were analysed to determine the level of sesame protein. Of the 571 samples analysed, 19% (109/571) contained sesame (results >LOQ) with concentrations of sesame proteins varying between 0.5 and 1,875 mg kg and 35% (199/571) contained traces (a value between LOD and LOQ). Unpackaged products were found to present the highest proportion of sesame containing samples (36%). For packaged products, 16% (27/173) of samples with PAL and 3% (5/173) without PAL were found to contain sesame. A probabilistic approach was used to estimate the risk incurred by the Canadian consumers allergic to sesame. Our evaluation estimated that 33 to 308 allergic reactions may occur out of 10 000 individuals ingesting one type of bakery product contaminated at a level of 0.6-74 mg kg sesame proteins. The incidence and level of sesame cross-contact reported in this study demonstrate that sesame allergic consumers could react if they ignore the precautionary allergen statements on product labels. Attention to sesame as a potential cross-contact agent and as a priority allergen calls for better management, given the growing interest in this ingredient to be included in food formulations. Enhanced risk management efforts must be coupled with targeted risk communication covering both producers and consumers as to the need to adopt and an approach for the application of precautionary allergen labelling based on risk.
芝麻过敏是世界上许多国家的一个公共卫生问题。本研究的目的是确定未贴标签或贴有免费芝麻的中东食品中是否存在芝麻过敏原，以及是否有预致敏过敏原标签（PAL）“可能含有”，并估计对芝麻过敏的加拿大人群所面临的风险，重点是在加拿大蒙特利尔的中东杂货店和面包店购买的产品。总共分析了 571 个样本，以确定芝麻蛋白的水平。在分析的 571 个样本中，19%（109/571）含有芝麻（结果> LOQ），芝麻蛋白浓度在 0.5 至 1875 毫克/千克之间，35%（199/571）含有微量（LOD 和 LOQ 之间的值）。未包装的产品被发现含有芝麻的样本比例最高（36%）。对于包装产品，发现 16%（27/173）有 PAL 的样品和 3%（5/173）没有 PAL 的样品含有芝麻。使用概率方法来估计对芝麻过敏的加拿大消费者所面临的风险。我们的评估估计，在摄入一种含有 0.6-74 毫克/千克芝麻蛋白的受污染烘焙产品的 10000 人中，可能会有 33 至 308 人出现过敏反应。本研究报告的芝麻交叉接触的发生率和水平表明，如果芝麻过敏消费者忽略产品标签上的预致敏过敏原声明，他们可能会出现过敏反应。由于人们对将芝麻作为一种潜在的交叉接触剂和优先过敏原越来越感兴趣，因此需要更好地管理芝麻，这就需要对生产者和消费者进行有针对性的风险沟通，说明需要采用并实施基于风险的预致敏过敏原标签应用方法。必须加强风险管理工作，并针对生产者和消费者进行有针对性的风险沟通，说明需要采用并实施基于风险的预致敏过敏原标签应用方法。
