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Food allergens testing

Allergens can be life-threatening to susceptible individuals, so the ability to reliably detect them in food is critical. The ultra-high sensitivity of SCIEX triple quadrupole systems enables food testing laboratories to perform this task successfully and help make the world a safer place for those with food allergies.

A comprehensive mass spectrometry solution for allergen testing

In recent years food allergens testing has risen to the top of food testing priorities. As food allergies and labeling requirements continue to increase worldwide, so does the demand for testing. The biggest challenges laboratories face with food allergen testing are sample preparation and choosing the right technologies.

To help laboratories with these challenges, SCIEX offers a proven solution that combines triple quadrupole mass spectrometry with ready-to-go allergen methods to provide the specificity and sensitivity needed to keep food products safe and meet labeling requirements and regulations.

    Testimonial

    • Traditional methods such as ELISA and PCR for allergen analysis come with several challenges, including detection accuracy in processed products or the costliness of testing for several allergens in the same sample. LC-MS/MS has the potential to overcome these challenges, which is just one reason why it is being adopted by multiple governments and private laboratories for allergen detection.

      Dr. Bert Pöpping FOCOS Consulting

    Detecting allergens at low levels in processed foods

    AOAC-accredited method for allergen testing

    Some of the most important regulated food allergens worldwide are nuts, cereals, eggs, milk and crustaceans. The EU incorporates the highest number of allergen commodities in its regulation EU FIC: N°1169/2011. In the US, allergens are regulated under the FASTER Act which added sesame to the list of major food allergens in 2023. 

    Currently, 2 major technologies are used to measure allergens: mass spectrometry and ELISA (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). The most important advantages of mass spectrometry are that multiple allergens can be measured simultaneously and mass spectrometry is largely unaffected by changes caused by certain food processing steps, such as baking. In addition, cross-reactivity is not observed with mass spectrometry and methods are easy to expand by the user by adding more analytes like peptides to existing target lists.

    Matrices such as nuts and cereal with high carbohydrate, protein and fat content are inherently prone to causing complications during analysis, which can affect sensitivity and robustness. SCIEX has developed and evaluated methods that solve these challenges. Our sample preparation method in combination with our robust source design provides a powerful toolset to help you succeed.

    But don't just take our word for it.

    Our method is AOAC accredited for First Action AOAC Official Method status and meets the minimum method performance requirements stated in AOAC SMPR 2016.002. 

    Food allergens testing

    Solution

    Suited for:

    • Processed foods
    • Challenging matrices
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