10-5 |
Utilization of allergen testing methods in the manufacturing environment |
S. L. HEFLE, Food Allergy Research & Resource Program, Univ. of Nebraska, Lincoln, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, 143 Food Industry Bldg., Lincoln, NE 68583-0919 The impact that food allergens have had on the food industry in the last ten years has been remarkable. Undeclared food allergens have been the reason for a large number of regulatory recalls; these recalls have large negative public relations and economic impact for the companies involved. Until recently, there were no commercially available testing methods to assist in evaluating cleaning strategies, raw materials, or changeover products in the struggle to reduce the risk of presence of undeclared allergens in food products. Now, with some commercial ELISA methods on the market, issues of adequate detection limits, detection limits vs. clinical allergen thresholds, and how regulatory agencies will or are using the methods are being raised. This presentation will cover what methods are available now and which are in the development pipeline. Some case studies of use of ELISA methods to detect allergenic residues and how they have assisted companies in making decisions to recall product or not, assess sanitation, and other applications in the food manufacturing environment, will be described.
Session 10, Emerging issues in food allergy
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