Enzymes in the Seafood Industry: Time for Health Studies with High-Quality Exposure Assessment

Enzymes are biocatalysts that increase the rate of most reactions within cells and are crucial for the function of humans and other living creatures. In addition, the use of enzymes in industry and everyday products largely of bacterial or fungal origin has increased in recent years. Food and beverages, detergent, perfume, pharmaceutical, textile, and chemical industries are increasingly using enzymes to improve fragrance, taste, and flavour (Budnik et al., 2017). A classic example is improver enzymes such as α-amylase, routinely added to accelerate, modify, and control dough making (Jones et al., 2016). Although the detrimental effects of these added active or inactive enzymes on the development of allergy and respiratory health are recognized (Baur, 2005; Jones et al., 2016), detailed exposure characterization and data to conduct dose–response relations for enzymes are lacking with the exception of a few agents such as α-amylase (Houba et al., 1996).