Immunochemical-based method for detection of hazelnut proteins in processed foods

Area of Science:

• Food Science
• Analytical Chemistry
• Allergen Detection

Background:

• Accurate detection of undeclared allergens like hazelnut is critical for food safety.
• Existing methods may lack specificity or require extensive sample preparation.
• Hazelnut is a common food allergen and ingredient, often found as a cross-contaminant.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a sensitive and specific assay for detecting hazelnut protein.
• To establish an efficient extraction and quantification method for various food matrices.
• To confirm the presence of undeclared hazelnut in commercially available food products.

Main Methods:

• Development of a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using polyclonal antibodies against roasted hazelnut protein.
• Optimization of an extraction and quantification protocol for chocolate, cookies, breakfast cereals, and ice cream.
• Validation of the method's specificity, sensitivity (IC80 at 0.45 ng/mL), and recovery rates (64-97%).
• Development of a confirmatory method using SDS-PAGE and Western blot.

Main Results:

• The developed ELISA showed no cross-reactivity with 39 other commodities, including common allergens.
• High recovery rates of hazelnut protein were achieved from spiked food matrices (64-97%).
• The method successfully identified undeclared hazelnut in a market survey of chocolate products.

Conclusions:

• A robust and specific competitive ELISA method for hazelnut detection has been established.
• The developed assay and extraction procedure are suitable for routine analysis of undeclared hazelnut in diverse food products.
• This method enhances food safety by enabling reliable identification of hazelnut contamination.