Abstract
The spread of food allergens is a topic of global importance due to its impact on public health. National and International regulations ask food producers and manufacturers to declare product compositions on the label, especially in case of processed raw materials. Wheat flour (Triticum aestivum) can be contaminated by a wide range of species belonging to the Brassicaceae in the field or during grain harvests, storage, and processing. Among them, mustards (Brassica nigra, Brassica juncea and Sinapis alba) are well known allergenic species. Often, food quality laboratories adopt an ELISA approach to detect the presence of mustard species. However, this approach shows cross-reactivity with other non-allergenic species such as Brassica napus (rapeseed). In the last few years, DNA barcoding was proposed as a valid identification method, and it is now commonly used in the authentication of food products. This study aims to set up an easy and rapid DNA-based tool to detect mustard allergenic species. DNA barcoding (matK and ITS2) and chromosome markers (A6, B, C1 genome regions) were selected, and specific primers were validated on incurred reference food matrices. The developed test was proven to be able to distinguish mustard from rapeseed and wheat, overcoming cross-reactivity with Brassica napus.
Highlights
Food allergens are among the most pressing concerns regarding global public health
Based on measurements of K2P genetic distances, the plastidial matK region was identified as the most universal barcode locus to signal the occurrence of Brassicaceae in food items, whereas between trnH-psbA and ITS2, the last one was selected due to its high variability
The usefulness of DNA barcoding as a tool to verify the possible contamination of wheat flours by mustard was investigated
Summary
Food allergens are among the most pressing concerns regarding global public health. Exposure to low doses of an allergen can provoke a severe response in sensitive persons, and the only effective way to prevent this is to avoid food items that may contain such allergens. European Directive concerning food safety (No 1169/2011) lists 14 main allergenic food ingredients. It is important to highlight that unintentional “cross-contact” between different food ingredients with allergens can occur in raw materials and during processing, in reworked products, or due to allergen carry-over from the use of shared equipment or production plants [2]. To prevent cross-contamination in terms of allergenic substances between food products, many food manufacturers put in place very strict allergen-control measures, such as the use of dedicated facilities or production lines
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
