Boye, J.I.Danquah, A.O.Lam Thang, C.Zhao, X.2019-01-172019-01-172012-04https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118308035.ch42http://ugspace.ug.edu.gh/handle/123456789/26888The management of allergens along the food value chain and the diagnosis of food allergic diseases continue to pose serious challenges to the food industry as well as health care professionals. Of the over 170 foods known to provoke allergic reactions, nine foods (and their derived products) are today considered to be major allergens accounting for over 90% of all food allergic reactions. These priority allergens include milk, eggs, soya beans, peanuts, tree nuts (e.g. almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts, pistachios, pine nuts, macadamia nuts, chestnuts and hickory nuts), seafood such as fish (i.e. both saltwater and freshwater finfish), crustaceans (e.g. shrimp, prawns, crab, lobster and crayfish) and molluscs (e.g. snails, oysters, clams, squid, octopus and cuttle-fish), gluten-containing cereals (i.e. wheat, rye, barley and their hybridised strains and products), sesame and mustard. Symptoms of food allergic reactions and the threshold dose required to provoke allergic reaction markedly vary among sensitised individuals. Food production practices, processing conditions and matrix effects can also modify the molecular structure of food allergens and their potential immunogenic properties which can make allergens diffi-cult to detect even when present in foods. This chapter provides an overview of the different types of food hypersensitivities including a distinction between food allergies and food intolerance, the properties of the nine priority food allergens, current approaches for the management of food allergens and a summary of some of the current methods used in food allergen detection. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Inc..enAnaphylactoid responsesnon-immunologic chemical mediatorsDelayed hypersensitivity reactionsDNA-based food allergen detection methodsFood allergensfood allergy managementFood allergyimmunological reactionFood hypersensitivityFood value chainallergen managementImmediate hypersensitivityMajor milk allergensMetabolic food disordersgenetic deficienciesArticle