Comprehensive allergen screening and semi-quantification in plant based Milk alternatives by mass spectrometry

Regulation of allergenic food and drink content is developing globally, reflecting the increased awareness and incidence of allergies in developed nations. As increasing numbers of people are diagnosed with allergies, the number of people directly affected by non-compliance with Precautionary Allergen Labelling (PAL) leads to increased risk, compounding the impact upon national health care providers. To assist regulators, we have developed LC-MS/MS methods for the detection and quantification of allergens in solid chocolate dessert and liquid plant milk emulsion matrices with μg/kg limits of quantification without the need for expensive synthetic calibrators. The LC-MS/MS screening method was then used to survey commercial plant-based milk alternative products, leading to the identification of contaminated products. A semi-quantitative, matrix matched calibration method was then used to estimate the allergen content. Subsequent orthogonal confirmation of content and concentration was then investigated using targeted LC-MS/MS, LC-TOF-MS and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) respectively.