sustainability Perspective A Snapshot on Food Allergies: A Case Study on Edible Flowers Massimo Lucarini 1,*, Andrea Copetta 2 , Alessandra Durazzo 1 , Paolo Gabrielli 1, Ginevra Lombardi-Boccia 1, Elisabetta Lupotto 1, Antonello Santini 3 and Barbara Ruffoni 2,* 1 CREA-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition, Via Ardeatina 546, 00178 Rome, Italy;
[email protected] (A.D.);
[email protected] (P.G.);
[email protected] (G.L.-B.);
[email protected] (E.L.) 2 CREA-Research Centre for Vegetable and Ornamental Crops, Corso Inglesi 508, 18038 Sanremo, Italy;
[email protected] 3 Department of Pharmacy, University of Napoli Federico II, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Napoli, Italy;
[email protected] * Correspondence:
[email protected] (M.L.); Barbara.ruff
[email protected] (B.R.) Received: 16 September 2020; Accepted: 13 October 2020; Published: 20 October 2020 Abstract: This perspective study addresses the main causes of adverse reactions to foods in humans, by taking into account the main allergic reactions that may occur as a result of food ingestion, as well the main allergens present in food and how their allergenicity change as a result of food preparation. In addition, European legislation on food labeling and novel foods was taken into account. The case study of this perspective is on the potential allergenicity of edible flowers as well as evidence of phytochemistry and toxic compounds and the risk associated with their ingestion. Regarding edible flowers, a key issue to address is if they are safe to consume or not.