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Table 1 Objectives of ImpARAS and tasks assigned to the 4 ImpARAS working groups

From: COST Action ‘ImpARAS’: what have we learnt to improve food allergy risk assessment. A summary of a 4 year networking consortium

Working group

Tasks and objectives

ImpARAS

Building a European network of leading institutes undertaking basic research on food safety, food allergy and allergy risk assessment to strengthen the international competitiveness of the European scientific community on this topic

Generating ideas on an improved risk assessment strategy to determine the allergenic potency of (novel) and/or processed proteins

Generating ideas for the development of new more predictive tools/methods for allergenicity

Disseminate the knowledge acquired to the European food industry leading to the development of novel safe food products and to the European food safety authorities to improve their allergy risk assessment strategies

WG1

Review analytical methods used in allergenicity assessment and identify methods relevant for an improved allergenicity assessment

Refine appropriate protocols for purification of allergens

Identify physicochemical properties of proteins that may affect sensitisation

Investigate which proteins (allergenic and non-allergenic) can be used in in vitro and in vivo allergenicity assessment studies

WG2

List in vitro methods (or combinations thereof) that can be used to predict the sensitising capacity of a protein

Investigate the possibilities of harmonising and validating in vitro models

WG3

Identify which (combination of) species, can be used to predict protein allergenicity in humans

Identify reliable end-point parameters that can be used to predict for sensitisation

Investigate the possibilities of harmonising and validating in vivo models

WG4

Identify the gaps in the current allergenicity risk assessment strategy

Implementation of WG1-3 findings in an improved risk assessment strategy

Involvement of regulatory authorities in the new concept and dissemination among food companies