Reliable analytical detection methods for food allergens

Food allergen detection

Wageningen Food Safety Research has developed analytical methods to detect allergens in different food matrices. Methods include antibody-based assays for easy, fast, sensitive and affordable pre-screening as well as highly sophisticated instrumental analysis methods to confirm the presence of allergens in suspect samples by unequivocal identification of the allergenic peptides or proteins. The confirmative method has been developed in collaboration with AB SCIEX and is validated for milk in cake flour. This method can easily be extended to cover other allergens, such as egg, peanut, soy and tree nuts, and/or different food matrices.

Analyzing presence of allergens in food

Food allergies are generally estimated to affect 1-10% of the world population. Responses are diverse and range from mild to very severe. It is important to label food products which contain allergens; however, so far, serious shortage of adequate techniques has made it very difficult to detect the presence of allergens in food. In the European Union, threshold levels for allergens are expected to be regulated in the coming years; therefore reliable and sensitive methods to analyze food products for the presence of allergens are urgently needed.