1802 – Supervised oral food challenge (OFC) in patients with suspected food allergy

Find out about the service or technology in this application and the medical condition it addresses. You can also view the application documents, the deadlines for providing consultation input and the outcome of the application when the MSAC process is complete.

  • Status Pre-assessment
  • Type New application
  • Pre-PASC consultation Open
  • Pre-MSAC consultation -
  • Outcome Pending

Application details

Applicant

Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy Limited

Reason for application

New Medicare Benefits Schedule item.

Service or technology in this application

An oral food allergen challenge (OFC) is a procedure where small and gradually increasing amounts of the food a patient is allergic to, is fed to that patient whilst under medical supervision. The patient is monitored to determine if the food being tested causes an allergic reaction. OFC's are a four hour procedure as the patient must be closely observed during the administration of the food, and for at least 2 hours after the last dose of the food. OFC's are mainly used to confirm a diagnosis of food allergy when the patient's history or allergy tests are unclear, and to determine whether a patient has outgrown their food allergy.

Type: Investigative

Medical condition this application addresses

An allergy occurs when a person's immune system reacts to substances that are harmless to most people. With food allergy, a person's immune system reacts to the protein (usually) in a food. When a person with food allergy eats food containing their allergen, they can develop an allergic reaction causing symptoms ranging from mild to moderate, or severe (known as anaphylaxis). Anaphylaxis is a medical emergency that needs immediate treatment with adrenaline (epinephrine). If left untreated, anaphylaxis can result in fatality. Food allergy can develop at any age. It occurs in around 10% of babies, 6.5% of children at 6 and 10 years of age, and about 5% of children at age 14. Although food allergy can be 'outgrown', around 2-4% of adults in Australia will still have a food allergy and some adults will develop a food allergy in their adult years. The most common food allergies are cow's milk (dairy), egg, peanut, tree nuts, sesame, soy, fish, shellfish and wheat.

Consultation survey and deadlines

The following consultation deadlines apply:

  • Pre-PASC consultation deadline: Friday 11 July 2025 11:59pm AEDT
  • Pre-MSAC consultation deadline: 

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Meetings to consider this application

This application will be considered at the following meetings:

  • PASC meeting: 15 August 2025
  • ESC meeting: 
  • MSAC meeting: 

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Outcome details

The outcome of this application is pending.

More information