The COMPARE 2024 database is now available (01/25/2024)!

COMPARE 2024 is the eighth iteration of the COMprehensive Protein Allergen REsource (COMPARE). Please visit the “Database” tab to browse the database and to find the associated documentation for complete details on updates.

This year, as part of COMPARE’s commitment to continuous improvement, we have enhanced the visibility of Mass Spectromerty (MS) fragments by including a graphical representation on the allergen record page. To learn about more updates, visit the "Documentation 2024" file.

 

COMPASS (COMPare Analysis of Sequences with Software), COMPARE’s companion tool, allows website-based, real-time use of the COMPARE 2024 database to run bioinformatics comparative sequence analysis.

The COMPARE Allergen Database

What it is - the COMprehensive Protein Allergen REsource (COMPARE) Database

Exhaustive listing of clinically relevant and peer-reviewed protein allergens with citation support and species identification. Descriptions of the allergens and the amino acid sequences are made available.

Where it comes from:

Public sequence listings and peer-reviewed literature are informatically and programmatically combed for any indication of the discovery of new allergens. If science has discovered an allergen, COMPARE is designed to make the broader scientific community and the public aware of it.

The sponsors and supporters of COMPARE:

Academic experts in the field of allergology, agricultural industry, Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI), the U.S. FDA, the U.S. EPA, and the Joint Institute of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (JIFSAN), a joint venture between the U.S. FDA and University of Maryland.

The rationale for building COMPARE:

Expectations from the industry, the public and global regulatory agencies interested in food and feed safety demand up-to-date identification of allergens. The rate and breadth of food and feed distribution demands that the best possible knowledge for allergy safety be taken into account.

Compare is available for all to use and review:

COMPARE is available for download. A systematic search and retrieve capability, as well as review of literature supporting the clinical relevance of allergens is made available.

COMPARE is different:

  • A science-based and professional approach to using bioinformatics is employed to screen, identify and sort sequences from the tens of millions of non-allergens
  • A truly tri-partite, broadly integrated partnership is utilized to take input from academic, food producer, and regulatory safety agency stakeholders
  • Professionally managed by HESI, a world leader in scientific stakeholder management
  • Rapid and efficient management of updates so that new discoveries of allergens are made available
  • Designed for long-lived and transparent management of the processes that are used to build COMPARE
  • Tightly integrated with experts in the fields of allergy and immunology to provide the best knowledge of allergen identification, naming conventions, and clear safety communications.

COMPARE moving forward:

The COMPARE database is available since February 2017 and has been updated annually since then. Our goal is to create an evolving public resource, while documenting the process leading to the identification and review of allergens.

COMPARE Users:

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