Musgrave and UCC join forces in food allergy research

CORK-BASED Musgrave, a food retailer, wholesaler and food service company, has collaborated with University College Cork (UCC) to advance allergy education and research.

The partnership will advance critical research from UCC’s INFANT Centre into anaphylaxis management, which is the management of severe, potentially life-threatening allergic reactions, in care settings.

It will also support the launch of a new online postgraduate programme in Allergy and Clinical Immunology within the Department of Paediatrics and Child Health at UCC.

Head of Food Safety and Quality at Musgrave, Ray Bowe, said: “At Musgrave, we feed one in three people across Ireland every day. We ensure that the food we supply is of the highest quality and safe for those who enjoy it, and this means the continuous management of allergens is a key cornerstone across our supply chains to the end consumer.

“Food allergens are a significant health risk to vulnerable consumers, with the rate of allergen sufferers increasing in the developed world over the past 30 years. As a result, we were happy to have the opportunity to support this allergy education and research at UCC and CUH.”

The new Allergy and Clinical Immunology programme at UCC is the first in Ireland that can be undertaken fully online. Aimed at healthcare professionals across a range of disciplines, it will provide the essential training needed to prevent, diagnose, and treat allergic and immunological diseases such as asthma, hay fever and food allergies. The support of Musgrave will see a number of grants made available for students on this programme.

Speaking about the partnership, Professor Geraldine Boylan, Professor of Neonatal Physiology and Director of the INFANT Research Centre said: “The College of Medicine and Health and the INFANT Research Centre at University College Cork is very grateful for the support our research received from industry through corporate philanthropy from Musgrave.”

In addition to the programme, Musgrave has also committed to supporting essential research into anaphylaxis management.

Dr Juan Trujillo, lead investigator at the INFANT Research Centre and Paediatric Allergist at CUH said: “We are investigating how allergies are managed by caregivers and how adrenaline auto-injectors, like the EpiPen, are being used in care settings. Our researchers are driving the change in allergy treatments.”