[Study and Interlaboratory Validation of Simultaneous LC-MS/MS Method for Food Allergens Using Model Processed Foods]

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Mass Spectrometry

Background:

• Food allergen analysis is crucial for public health and regulatory compliance.
• Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) offers high sensitivity and specificity for multi-allergen detection.
• Developing validated methods for simultaneous food allergen analysis is an ongoing research area.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a simultaneous food allergen detection method using LC-MS/MS.
• To evaluate the method's effectiveness through an interlaboratory validation study.
• To assess the method's applicability for screening processed foods for multiple allergens.

Main Methods:

• Development of a simultaneous detection method utilizing LC-MS/MS.
• Application of the method to model processed foods (rice porridge, pancake).
• Interlaboratory validation study involving three independent laboratories.

Main Results:

• The developed LC-MS/MS method successfully targeted nine common food allergens.
• Qualitative and quantitative analyses demonstrated good accuracy across participating laboratories.
• High agreement was observed between laboratories, indicating method robustness, with minor exceptions for specific allergens.

Conclusions:

• The developed LC-MS/MS method is practical and effective for the simultaneous screening of multiple food allergens.
• The method shows potential for application in routine food safety testing and regulatory surveillance.
• Further application to diverse food matrices is supported by the validation results.