Food Allergen Testing Market Report: Trends, Forecast and Competitive Analysis to 2035

Food Allergen Testing Market

The future of the global food allergen testing market looks promising with opportunities in the bakery & confectionery, infant food, processed food, dairy products & its alternative, and seafood & meat product markets. The global food allergen testing market is expected to reach an estimated $2.6 billion by 2035 from $1.3 billion in 2027 with a CAGR of 8.7% from 2027 to 2035. The major drivers for this market are the increasing need for food safety regulations, the rising prevalence of food allergies, and the growing demand for allergen-free products.

• Lucintel forecasts that, within the type category, polymerase chain reaction-based is expected to witness higher growth over the forecast period due to high sensitivity to allergens and can detect even trace amounts.
• Within the application category, infant food is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period due to the increased awareness of food safety for infants.
• In terms of regions, APAC is expected to witness the highest growth over the forecast period due to the increase of food safety regulations and international food exportations.

Emerging Trends in Food Allergen Testing Market

It is anticipated that from 2025 to 2027, the food allergen testing market will change from sampling to validate compliance to sampling for risk assessment. There is interest from all market participants to have at their disposal extensive test panels, greatly reduce the time it takes to receive test results, and/or obtain documentation to substantiate the test results. Lucintel has acknowledged this market tendency.

• Multiplex Testing: From a regulatory perspective, testing multiple allergens in a single test has become acceptable. Use of multiplexed assays will also reduce the cost of testing.
• Rapid Tests: The use of lateral flow devices and small, portable molecular devices have reduced the time it takes to receive test results.
• Trace Detection: Both PCR and ELISA test methods are well established and continue to be the main methods to detect and/or measure allergens.
• Digital Traceability: Cloud-based laboratory information systems connect laboratory test results with supplier information, batch codes and corrective actions. With retailers requiring the ability to retrieve auditable records by 2026, manufacturers will imperative to provide digital information to support product safety and quality.
• Preventive Verification: Increased focus is on the testing of ingredients and raw materials. The use of environmental testing to verify the effectiveness of sanitation procedures is increasing. Due to the financial and reputation impacts of product recissions caused by the presence of allergens, Verification activities will see an increase over the next five years.

The greatest opportunity for product and service innovation will be based on the synthesis of rapid testing, high specificity tests, and integrated supply Chain information. Regulatory change will help establish a minimum level of protection, while first mover advantages will be based on interpreting the most stringent retail and consumer requirements. Processed food and private label manufacturers will be the greatest opportunity for product and service innovations based on integration.

Recent Developments in the Food Allergen Testing Market

Between the years 2025 and 2027, the market is expected to grow due to regulators modifying labeling windows, manufacturers extending allergen screening, and automation of allergen testing by laboratories. Lucintel expects that the market will pursue multiplex allergen testing. The greatest investment will be for methods that allow for preventive controls. Allergen testing will be crucial for reducing the number of regulated product releases and facilitating export of food products to jurisdictions with strict allergen labeling.

• Regulatory Enforcement: In January 2025, the FDA released a draft guidance which outlined the allergens controls. This implied that the agency expected food processors to perform preventive allergen testing. This increased control will potentially expand the market for allergen testing.
• Multiplex Technology: In 2025, Thermon Fisher Scientific released a food allergen test which allowed for the simultaneous screening of multiple food allergens. Other food allergen tests will likely follow suite allowing for integration of multiple foods.
• Laboratory Expansion: In 2025, Eurofins expanded its food testing labs to increase its capacity across several tests and expand to new geographies. With enhanced local capacity, food manufacturers can reduce lead times, speeding up time to market.
• Digital Traceability: Continued investment by food manufacturers in connected quality systems picked up steam in 2025. These systems enabled food manufacturers to capture and electronically store data on allergens, batches and suppliers. This trend represents a sea change in the food industry, as electronic data will likely become a pre-req condition to supply major food retailers and contract manufacturers.
• Rapid Methods: Neogen Corporation reported 2025 was a breakthrough year for the commercial release of rapid legality and pathogen tests. Increased velocity in testing can decrease the time perishable foods are quarantined and enable in-process testing to verify food safety.

The focus of the food safety testing market will be on the integration of various test kits and the delivery of test results in the least amount of time. There will always be a base of business for food safety testing, but the bigger opportunities will be realized through the rapid and integrated testing of multiple food safety risks.

Strategic Growth Opportunities in the Food Allergen Testing Market

Enforcement of food labeling laws, increase in international trade and the launch of 2nd and 3rd generation plant-based proteins is expected to increase the need for food allergens testing during 2024-2026. With the goal of reducing the number of food recalls, food manufacturers will seek food allergens testing. Beyond compliance, what is the potential for the food allergens testing market? According to Lucintel, there are opportunities beyond food allergens testing.

• Food Allergens Testing: In 2025, the Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) reported that 33 million Americans have food allergies. Food manufacturers may need to test more food allergens to ensure the safety of the food before it is released to the market.
• Allergens Cross Contact in Plant-based Foods: In 2025, The Good Food Institute (GFI) reported that U.S. retail sales of plant-based foods reached 8 billion dollars. As the variety of plant-based food products increases, there is a need for food testing to ensure safety.
• Food Allergens Testing (Small Food Manufacturers): In 2025, the FDA reported that the top 9 food allergens were milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans. Lack of sufficient testing may result from the small food manufacturer's inability to acquire and maintain proper testing equipment and systems.
• Digital Allergens Testing: In 2025, GS1 welcomed the use of 2-dimensional (2D) barcodes and encouraged food manufacturers to use them to capture more product information. Digitizing allergens testing data and batch records may improve traceability.
• Local Testing in Underdeveloped Markets: Food safety is a global issue. In 2025, the World Health Organization reported that approximately 60% of the world's population (around 600 million people) is at risk from food-borne illnesses each year. Developing local food manufacturing is increasing in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East and will likely create a demand for local testing and regulatory services.

In the coming years, testing laboratories and technology companies will need to prioritize enhancing sensitivity and reducing the time required to obtain test results to be competitive. Through these improvements, the companies will be able to clearly communicate the risks associated with food to their clients. Defensibility of test results will be critical for test method suppliers. Method suppliers that incorporate localized strategies and/or provide local operator training and support for regulatory audits will succeed in this space. These companies will be able to implement stable, long-term business models in high-potential, high-growth food safety markets.

Food Allergen Testing Market Drivers and Challenges

Food allergen testing is anticipated to rise on account of rise in food allergies, regulations for label rural practice, and worldwide food trade. Manufacturers are predominantly economic constraint companies. Thus, there exists a demand for rapid and low cost food allergen testing. According to Lucintel, in addition to regulatory frameworks, the food allergen testing market is impacted by customer and competitor strategies, and global market shifts.

The factors responsible for driving this market include :

• Rise in Food Allergies: Increasing diagnosis of food allergies has led to an awareness about the significance of identifying food allergens in different foods. The US FDA recognizes nine food allergens which includes sesame as one of them. Due to this, food manufacturers, as well as food service providers, are required to ensure that foods they manufacture/prepare do not contain sesame. As more food allergens come to the fore, food service providers and food manufacturers will be required to ensure food allergens are not present in the food they sell/serve or manufacture/prepare respectively. Moreover, increasing diagnosis of food allergies will prompt food service providers, food manufacturers as well as retailers to ensure that food they sell/serve or manufacture/prepare is safe for consumption by food allergic people. This will be done by ensuring food allergens are not present in the food. This situation will greatly boost the demand of food allergen testing, especially in the food service and food manufacturing industries.
• Mandatory Labeling: The required notification and labeling of allergens by governments is becoming more stringent, along with requirements for handling potential allergens during production. In 2025, sesame was still not finalized in the U.S. labeling rule, and therefore continued to affect formulations and require verification. During the next 5 years, better enforcement and international regulation, as well as the allergen compliance programs of large retailers, will require that allergen testing be adequately documented in order to gain access to the marketplace. Failure to do so may result in expensive recalls, lawsuits and loss of customer trust.
• New Technologies: Rapid and significant improvements in the areas of biotechnology, instrumentation, software and other areas will allow manufacturers to test for allergens quicker, easier and at lower costs than ever before. Allergen testing in 2025 benefited from rapid improvements in instruments, reagents and testing procedures. Significant improvements in cross contact testing, especially for multiple allergens in a single sample, were reported.
• Increased Processing of Foods: Cross contact risks increased with large, complex food processing facilities, especially in the areas of packaged baked goods, convenience and on-the-go meals. In 2025, the food industry continued developing and launching high (ready to eat) and private label food offerings. During the next 5 years, these trends are expected to increase, requiring raw material and ingredient testing by food processors.
• Quality Assurance and Supply Chain Transparency: Brand protection and buyer requirements are driving the adoption of various systems and protocols by manufacturers. Documented hazard-based programs aligned with preventive controls have been commonplace in many food companies since March 2025. In the next 3 to 5 years, Allergen testing will be part of quality management. During that time frame, it is expected that retailers will conduct audits and real-time production data will be electronically available.

The challenges facing this market include:

• Costs of Testing: The cost of specialized testing to detect allergens may be beyond the means of small and medium-sized companies. It is expected that the costs of sophisticated testing may be beyond the reach of the smaller companies for a relatively long time, but in the next few years, there may be improvements in costs because of automation and portable testing devices.
• Detection of Cross Contamination: It is very difficult to determine whether there is cross contamination in a production facility because allergens may be present in various places in a facility or in transportation and processing equipment. It may also be very difficult to detect low levels of allergens, especially if the product formulation has been changed. Environmental testing and the use of thorough cleaning procedures to assess the level of contamination may be needed to answer these questions.
• Global Standard Discrepancies: Major barriers to international food manufacturing are variations in allergen definitions and limits, labeling, examination procedures and standards, and enforcement policies. In 2025, sesame was declared a major allergen in the U.S. but was subject to less stringent requirements in other jurisdictions. It is expected that in the next 3 to 5 years, greater regulatory divergence will increase the cost of testing and documentation for export, and encourage exporters to implement differing product controls for each export market. This could result in longer delays for the release of products to multiple markets.

The global food allergen testing market is expected to gain from greater awareness and diagnosis of food allergies, as well as from enhanced laws and regulations. Additional factors driving the market will be the increased production of processed foods and raw materials, and an increasing emphasis on the security and effectiveness of the end-to-end supply chain. The introduction of advanced technologies will reduce the costs and increase the speed and ease of performing tests. While tests will be more widely used to assess control of the food supply chain, cost and complexity will hinder international standardization and harmonization. Affordable and easy-to-use test kits integrated with manufacturing and supply chain systems will facilitate the use of tests to assess control of the food supply.

List of Food Allergen Testing Market Companies

Companies in the market compete on the basis of product quality offered. Major players in this market focus on expanding their manufacturing facilities, R&D investments, infrastructural development, and leverage integration opportunities across the value chain. Through these strategies food allergen testing market companies cater increasing demand, ensure competitive effectiveness, develop innovative products & technologies, reduce production costs, and expand their customer base. Some of the food allergen testing market companies profiled in this report include-

• Neogen
• Crystal Chem
• SGS
• Intertek Group
• TUV SUD PSB
• ALS Limited
• Eurofins Scientific
• Merieux NutriSciences
• AsureQuality
• Microbac Laboratories

Food Allergen Testing Market by Segment

The study includes a forecast for the global food allergen testing market by type, application, and region.

Food Allergen Testing Market by Type [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• Polymerase Chain Reaction
• Immunoassay/ELISA
• Others

Food Allergen Testing Market by Application [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• Bakery & Confectionery
• Infant Food
• Processed Food
• Dairy Products & Its Alternatives
• Seafood & Meat Products
• Others

Food Allergen Testing Market by Region [Value ($B) from 2019 to 2035]:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• The Rest of the World

Country Wise Outlook for the Food Allergen Testing Market

The food allergen testing market is in the process of changing from a market in which testing is done in an ad hoc manner to comply with regulations to a market in which instrument-based tests are routinely performed. Between 2025 and 2027, several regulatory changes and the automation of laboratory tests will affect the market. According to Lucintel, the market will further fragment, especially in the food testing services industry.

• United States: The FDA's 2025 food safety objectives will probably result in the continuation of the agency's risk-based sampling for the testing of the allergens in packaged food. The FASTER Act of 2021 mandates that FDA consider sesame to be a major food allergen. Thus, in the next few years, tests for the identification of food allergens in packaged food will mainly be PCR or mass spectrometry tests.
• China: There are ongoing efforts in China to amend the allergens disclosure requirements for prepackaged food. In the absence of stringent requirements, food testing laboratories in China have vested interest to improve their test methods and allocate resources for equipment upgrades. The Allergen List of China, GB 7718-2011, covers eight food categories.
• Germany: German food producers will have to abide by the EU's rules concerning 14 allergens by 2026. In the meantime, the country's contract testing labs are expanding their capacity for molecular testing. It is expected that Germany's food testing labs will become even more reliant on accredited testing. By 2025, it is expected that about 600 German food testing labs will be accredited. This trend will make outsourced testing even more prevalent.
• India: In 2025, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is expected to authorize/recognize 240 food-testing laboratories. During the same time frame, India is also expected to change its packaging rules in order to require food companies to disclose major allergen groups. Given these developments, it is likely that in the coming years, food companies will perform more routine allergen testing, particularly if they are government/school caterers.
• Japan: Currently, the Consumer Affairs Agency of Japan requires that 8 allergens be disclosed on food labels. Likewise, 20 other allergens can be disclosed on food labels on a recommendation. Additionally, in 2025, Japan is expected to amend its Food Labeling Regulation to require better controls for undisclosed allergens. Because of these factors, it is likely that food companies will perform more supplier verification and routine allergen testing.

Features of the Global Food Allergen Testing Market

• Market Size Estimates: food allergen testing market size estimation in terms of value ($M).
• Trend and Forecast Analysis: Market trends (2019 to 2026) and forecast (2027 to 2035) by various segments and regions.
• Segmentation Analysis: food allergen testing market size by type, application, and region in terms of value ($M).
• Regional Analysis: food allergen testing market breakdown by North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Rest of the World.
• Growth Opportunities: Analysis of growth opportunities in different types, applications, and regions for the food allergen testing market.
• Strategic Analysis: This includes M&A, new product development, and competitive landscape of the food allergen testing market.

Analysis of competitive intensity of the industry based on Porter's Five Forces model.

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This report answers following 11 key questions:

• Q.1. What are some of the most promising, high-growth opportunities for the food allergen testing market by type (polymerase chain reaction-based, immunoassay-based/ELISA, and others), application (bakery & confectionery, infant food, processed food, dairy products & its alternatives, seafood & meat products, and others), and region (North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and the Rest of the World)?
• Q.2. Which segments will grow at a faster pace and why?
• Q.3. Which region will grow at a faster pace and why?
• Q.4. What are the key factors affecting market dynamics? What are the key challenges and business risks in this market?
• Q.5. What are the business risks and competitive threats in this market?
• Q.6. What are the emerging trends in this market and the reasons behind them?
• Q.7. What are some of the changing demands of customers in the market?
• Q.8. What are the new developments in the market? Which companies are leading these developments?
• Q.9. Who are the major players in this market? What strategic initiatives are key players pursuing for business growth?
• Q.10. What are some of the competing products in this market and how big of a threat do they pose for loss of market share by material or product substitution?
• Q.11. What M&A activity has occurred in the last 7 years and what has its impact been on the industry?