Dr. Bert Popping

FOCOS - Food Orbit

Dr Bert Popping is a food safety scientist and CEO of FOCOS and co-founder of Food Orbit with more than 25 years of experience in food allergen risk assessment, analytical method performance, and regulatory decision-making. He has served as an expert in FAO/WHO consultations on food allergen risk assessment, including recent work on gluten-containing cereals, and supports industry and authorities on allergen risk management and analytics.

Presentation:
The FASTA and the curious: adventures in allergen prediction - When 35% similarity Isn't enough to predict anaphylaxis

Key Points:
• The 35% Failure: Traditional sequence homology (35% similarity) misses the 3D structures and CRISPR-created proteins that trigger immune responses.
• The "Unknown" Risk: Current frameworks manage established allergens well but cannot predict if novel proteins (e.g., algae) will cause entirely new allergies.
• The Guinea Pig Reality: Without pre-market predictability, consumers have become an involuntary, long-term study cohort for unquantifiable risks.
• Structural Shift: Assessment must move from "what is the sequence?" to "how dangerous is it clinically?”, using AI and clinical mapping.
• Surveillance Imperative: Safety requires mandatory post-market tracking, including adverse reaction networks and real-time exposure monitoring.