FAO and WHO desire that all relevant information and data about cereals containing gluten or gluten are considered in their assessment and are thus issuing this international call to raise awareness about data needs and invite all interested parties to provide any relevant information/data, particularly data that may not be readily available in the public domain.
Objectives
The data will serve as inputs to the development of scientific advice, which shall be provided through an expert consultation that will take place in 2025, and will guide the elaboration of appropriate Codex texts and advise Member States.
Request for relevant information
FAO and WHO want to ensure that all available and relevant information and data are collected, and are requesting governments, private sector, the food industry, academia, consumer groups, laboratories, and any other interested organizations and individuals to submit any available data on the specific areas indicated above. These data may be published or unpublished. Reference should be made to related published studies, where applicable.
List of data and information requirements
Data and information on the following aspects are requested:
- Data on the prevalence and characteristics of food allergy cases and food allergens with regard to cereals containing gluten or gluten.
- Food allergy case studies:
- time (year and month) and location (region, country, and city) of case occurrence;
- age, sex and medical status;
- case confirmed or suspected to have resulted from the exposure to food allergens;
- implicated type of food allergen (if identified), and how this was determined (e.g. diagnosis, laboratory confirmation, investigation, etc.);
- source attribution of the food allergen, including origin (e.g. local, imported);
- clinical presentation, pathophysiology and outcome of the allergy;
- Epidemiological data on food allergies:
- number of age and sex distribution of individuals with diagnosed food allergies, as well as acute cases, hospitalizations, and deaths associated with food allergens;
- susceptibility characteristics and medical history of diagnosed food allergic individuals (e.g. pregnancy, nutrition, health and medication status, immune status and previous exposure history or any other risk factors identified);
- Clinical, chemical and biological data on food allergens, including clinical presentation of reactions to respective allergens (cutaneous, respiratory, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, etc.); pathophysiology of food allergens; immunogenicity of food allergens; dose-response studies (in particular minimum eliciting dose); immunotoxicity studies;
- Occurrence data on food allergens in unrelated food commodities, including possible sources (formulation mistake, product reuse, inadequate cleaning, allergen cross-contact, etc.);
- Any other relevant data.
- Analytical methods for food allergen detection along the value chain.
- DNA-based;
- protein-based;
- others
- Dietary exposure assessment data
- levels and patterns of human exposure from all relevant sources of identified food allergens;
- food consumption patterns and population groups.
- Risk management measures
- current food allergen monitoring and surveillance, as well as commodity-specific programmes;
- national, regional and international guidance relating to food allergen risk assessment;
- summary of risk management programs in place for food allergens, and evidence for their success or otherwise.
Data provider: Please provide the name, title and full contact details of the contact person for follow-up and further details if needed.
Confidential and/or unpublished data
FAO and WHO recognize that some of the information and relevant data which are now required may be unpublished or of a confidential nature. With regard to unpublished information and data, this remains the property of the author for subsequent publication by the owner as original material. Unpublished confidential studies that are submitted will be safeguarded in so far as it is possible to do so without compromising the work of FAO and WHO. Specific issues relating to confidentiality should be discussed directly between the information and data owners and FAO/WHO. For these and other issues please contact FAO and WHO at the contacts provided.
Deadline
Please submit any relevant information electronically either via e-mail (if not too large) or on a USB stick, in any official United Nations language (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish), and with title and short description of the content in English, to the addresses below at your earliest convenience, but no later than 15 September 2025.
Submissions in response to the call for experts should be sent to both:
Kang Zhou
Agrifood Systems and Food Safety Division, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Viale delle Terme di Caracalla 00153, Rome, Italy
Telephone: + 39 06 570 50319
Email: kang.zhou@fao.org
Akio Hasegawa
Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, World Health Organization
20, avenue Appia 1211, Geneva 27 Switzerland
Telephone: +41 79 367 62 03
Email: food_allergens@who.int
*As we are having two Calls on the Risk Assessment of Food Allergens, please specify which one or both you are responding to.