Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (6)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Smith, T. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Smith, T. A.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Occupational Medicine 2004;54:21-27
© Society of Occupational Medicine 2004; all rights reserved

Preventing baker's asthma: an alternative strategy

T. A. Smith

RHM Ltd, King Edward House, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1TJ, UK

Background Although baker's asthma has attracted considerable research interest over the last 30 years, success in its prevention has been slow to achieve. This paper describes the results of an alternative preventive strategy, based on an observation that the excess of sensitization in bread bakers is largely due to IgE-mediated allergy to fungal amylase, contained in bread improvers. The practical application of the strategy has been to limit bread improver exposures to <1 mg/m3 [8 h time-weighted average (TWA)], whilst exposures to all other ingredients, including flour, have been limited to <10 mg/m3 (8 h TWA).

Method The paper describes the findings of in-house respiratory health surveillance and dust sampling programmes, from a UK food company whose primary interests are milling and baking, over the period following the introduction of the strategy to target the reduction in bread improver exposure.

Results Over the 10 year period of surveillance, the incidence of symptomatic sensitization in the bread baking sector (2240 per million employees per annum) was greater than for the other flour-using groups (330 per million employees per annum), despite broadly similar total inhalable dust exposures. There was an overall reduction in the incidence of new cases of symptomatic sensitization, from 2085 per million employees per year in the first 5 years of the surveillance programme, to 405 per million employees per year in the subsequent 5 years.

Conclusion The strategy of targeting bread improver exposure is an effective approach for the prevention of new cases of symptomatic sensitization in bread bakeries.

Keywords      Amylase; asthma; flour; rhinitis

Received       20 January 2003
Revised         24 June 2003
Accepted       24 July 2003

Correspondence to: Dr T. A. Smith,RHM Ltd, King Edward House, 27/30 King Edward Court, Windsor, Berkshire SL4 1TJ, UK. e-mail: tsmith{at}rhms.co.uk


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eur Respir JHome page
T. Skjold, R. Dahl, B. Juhl, and T. Sigsgaard
The incidence of respiratory symptoms and sensitisation in baker apprentices
Eur. Respir. J., August 1, 2008; 32(2): 452 - 459.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med.Home page
C. E. Mapp, P. Boschetto, P. Maestrelli, and L. M. Fabbri
Occupational Asthma
Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., August 1, 2005; 172(3): 280 - 305.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer:
Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.