Matthias BESLER (a, b), Udo KASEL (a), Gerhard WICHMANN (a)

(a) LEFO Institute for Food and Environmental Research, Ahrensburg, Germany
(b) matthias besler ONLINE PUBLISHER, Hamburg, Germany
 
 

SUMMARY

KEYWORDS

Hidden food allergens present a potential threat to allergic individuals. In Europe mandatory labelling of the most important food allergens is in preparation (Amendment of EU Food Labeling Directive). On the other hand there are only a few validated methods for the detection and quantitation of minute amounts of allergens in foods. Immunological methods can involve either human IgE or animal antisera. Dot-immunblotting and SDS-PAGE / immunoblotting are sufficient for qualitative detection of food allergens, while Rocket-immunoelectrophoresis and Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) are applications to quantitate hidden food allergens. The performance of the methods such as their sensitivity, specificity, limit of detection, recovery and reproducability are reviewed in detail.

hidden allergens food manufacture food labeling immunodiffusion immunoblotting immunoelectrophoresis ELISA

[Introduction] [Sources of Hidden Allergens] [Amounts] [Methods of Determination] [Common Criteria] [Rocket-Immunoelectrophoresis]  [Dot-Immunoblot] [SDS/PAGE-Immunoblot] [Competitive-ELISA] [Sandwich-ELISA] [RAST/EAST-Inhibition] [RAST vs ELISA] [Commercial Test-Kits] [Frequency of Undeclared Allergens] [Conclusions] [References] [Abbreviations]

Matthias Besler

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