Allergen workshop 2018

On 28 February 2018 LGC hosted a workshop titled 'An analytical roadmap for detecting allergens'.

Food allergens represent a clear threat to the health and well-being of those affected and place an increasing pressure on food producers and the regulatory bodies which govern them.

During 2015, a number of spice products were the subject of a recall owing to the suspected unlabelled presence of almond. Detailed analyses by the Government Chemist team, using a multidisciplinary approach (comprising mass spectrometry, DNA-based methods and ELISA), conclusively demonstrated that the presence of almond (Prunus dulcis) could be discounted in favour of a similar species, Prunus mahaleb. The results illustrate the limitations of adopting single methods, and highlight that more than one analytical approach to detect food allergens can be required. Based on this case study, the workshop focused on providing advice, guidance and best practice on the application of a range of complementary analytical techniques for the detection of allergens in spices.

The workshop was funded by Defra, FSA, FSS and BEIS under the Joint Knowledge Transfer Framework for Food Standards and Food Safety Analysis.

The documents in this section include all of the workshop presentations, together with a copy of an analytical roadmap that can be used for the detection of future allergen/spice combinations.

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The Allergen Response Roadmap
 139.25 KB
 11-09-2018

The "Allergens Roadmap", describing the decisions and actions needed to respond to a substantial case of allergen contamination. The roadmaop was presented and discussed at teh training workshop in February 2018.

Analytical Roadmap, Reporting, Interpretation

The presentation describes the approach used for responding to a substantial allergen contamination problem.

Michael Walker
28 February 2018

Spice authenticity – DNA-based approaches for the detection of adulterating nut material
Timothy Wilkes, LGC
28 February 2018

Mass spectrometry - identification of protein allergen contaminants
Chris Hopley, LGC
28 February 2018

Allergens in spices workshop -
ELISA Assays
Malvinder Singh
28th February 2018

Industry Approach To Dealing With Allergens In Spices
Greg Corbishley – Head of Food Defence
Bart Spices

FSA Perspective on Food Allergy
 1.68 MB
 11-09-2018

FSA PERSPECTIVE ON FOOD ALLERGY
Dr Chun-Han Chan

28/02/2018

Allergens in spices workshop -
Introduction
Selvarani Elahi
28th February 2018