Effects of nonthermal food processing technologies on food allergens: A review of recent research advances

Abstract Background The increasing prevalence of food allergy cases is an issue of global concern. As a result, scientific innovations have been taking place to induce chemical modifications for achieving attenuation of allergenic responses in sensitive individuals or for manufacturing hypoallergenic foods using food processing technologies. Conventional processing techniques involving heat treatment are usually exploited, but may be accompanied by dramatic changes in food quality attributes due to high temperature. Therefore, alternative nonthermal technologies may be a new direction for attaining hypoallergenicity. Scope and approach This review presents the current knowledge and recent findings on the possibility of engaging nonthermal technologies including pulsed light, high pressure processing, irradiation, cold plasma, ultrasound and pulsed electric field, for the elimination of allergenic proteins in foods and their underlying mechanisms. In contrast to heat-based methods, nonthermal treatments can adequately retain sensorial and nutritional quality of the food products, while altering allergenicity. Food allergy classification, clinical manifestations, epitope characterization and detection methods are also presented. Key findings and conclusions To date, studies show that nonthermal processes have complicated effects on food allergens. Much further research efforts should be made for using nonthermal processing technologies as alternatives to replace traditional techniques. Nonetheless, it is expected that in the near future, susceptible individuals will benefit from different hypoallergenic products processed with novel nonthermal technologies at an affordable cost.