The OSU Food Science Harris Award
[Where and when] [About Dr. Stephen Taylor] [Presentation Abstract] [Presentation ppt] [Presentation in Adobe format] [About the Harris Award]
The Department of Food Science and Technology of the Ohio State University is pleased to announce the recipient of the First OSU Food Science Harris Award is Dr. Stephen L. Taylor of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
Dr. Taylor has agreed to grace our campus with a day-long visit and present the inaugural lectureship on 28 October 2004 at 11 AM. Professor Taylor is the world expert on food allergens The public is invited to this celebration of accomplishments that improve the human condition through food.
This award is made possible by a generous gift from Ronald D.
Harris, former Vice President of Kraft-Nabisco and OSU alumnus. It honors the
accomplishments of an outstanding scholar who significantly advances the science
of food and vitality of the nation's largest manufacturing industry. It
includes an engraved sculpture from the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art,
Inscription on the OSU Food Science Hall of Fame, an honorarium of $2,000.00,
and a full day of interaction with OSU faculty and students.
Thursday, October 28, 11:00 a.m.
118 Parker Food Science Building
FOOD ALLERGENS
from
Chaos, Confusion and Concern
to
Commitment and Control
Professor Stephen L.
Taylor
Food Allergy Research & Resource Program
Department of Food Science
University of Nebraska
Dr. Taylor’s primary research interests involve the determination of the minimal doses for specific allergenic foods; allergenicity of ingredients derived from allergenic sources; and allergenicity of foods produced through agricultural biotechnology. His research generated more than 200 scientific publications on peanut, soybean, Brazil nut, almond, and cows’ milk allergies.
Dr. Taylor is Professor and Head of the Dept. of Food Science & Technology and Director of the Food Processing Center at the University of Nebraska. He received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in food science from Oregon State University and his Ph.D. in biochemistry from the University of California - Davis. He received postdoctoral training in environmental toxicology and nutrition at the University of California - Davis. Before joining the University of Nebraska in 1987, Dr. Taylor was Chief of the Food Toxicology Laboratory at Letterman Army Institute of Research in San Francisco and was a faculty member with the Food Research Institute at the University of Wisconsin. He is a member of the Food & Nutrition Board of the National Academy of Sciences; the Adverse Reactions to Foods Committee of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology; and the Medical Advisory Board of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.
FOOD ALLERGENS: FROM CHAOS, CONFUSION, AND
CONCERN TO COMMITMENT AND CONTROL
Steve L. Taylor, Ph.D.
Food Allergy Research & Resource Program
Food Processing Center
University of Nebraska
Lincoln, NE 68583-0919
Staylor2@unl.edu
Allergic reactions to foods have probably occurred for decades if not centuries.
However, awareness of food allergies as a food safety issue for the food
industry began to occur in the 1980’s. Both the prevalence and severity of food
allergies are apparently increasing. Estimates are that 3.5-4% of the U.S.
population suffers from a food allergy and that 150-200 Americans die each year
from inadvertent ingestion of a food to which they were allergic. Accordingly,
the food industry and governmental regulatory agencies began to focus more
attention on food allergies in the 1990’s. Initially, the food industry response
to concerns about food allergies was chaotic and confused because of a lack of
knowledge and training. However, the U.S. and Canadian food industries responded
very well, although progress varies from one company to another. As a result,
the packaged food supply is much safer for food-allergic consumers than it was
10 years ago. Thus, within a period of 10 years or so the situation moved from
chaotic and confused to committed and reasonably well controlled.
Internationally with the notable exception of Canada, the response of the food
industry to food allergies has been more uneven due to a continuing lack of
knowledge and training. From a regulatory perspective, enforcement was improving
and product recalls arising from undeclared allergens are the leading cause of
recall actions in the U.S. These regulatory actions contributed to the positive
attitude of the industry. However, the situation has recently become more
chaotic just when real progress was being made. The legislative arm of
government weighed in with the passage of the Food Allergen Labeling and
Consumer Protection Act of 2004. While most of the provisions of FALCPA are
commendable, FALCPA will require the labeling of all ingredients derived from
commonly allergenic foods regardless of the amounts present in the finished
product. This will lead to the declaration of many more such ingredients on the
product label thereby decreasing food choices and the quality of life for
food-allergic consumers. Many of these ingredients are present at such miniscule
levels that allergic consumers would not likely react to them, and most of these
products have been safely consumed by food-allergic individuals for years. Thus,
the food industry once again finds itself in the midst of chaos. The distinction
is that many of the forthcoming changes will do little to further protect
food-allergic consumers and the focus will switch from consumer protection to
label compliance.
