Screening of food allergens in cereals using real-time PCR

Abstract

Allergen is a substance that induces hypersensitivity reactions. Most of the food allergens are protein in nature and cause life-threatening allergies as well as influencing the quality of life. The present study was designed to evaluate the screening of major allergens in commercially available processed food commodities of wheat, soybean species and the cross reactivity of peanut in tree nuts using real-time PCR. Analysis of the results demonstrates that the SYBER Green qPCR assay is a quick and reliable method for screening of allergens. A total of 42 food samples were collected for these studies and analyzed results. Peanut allergen was detected in tree nuts of walnut, coconut, almond, and hazelnut, wheat allergen was detected in rice, oat, barely and buckwheat, while soybean allergen was detected in the species of pea, broad bean, bean seed, and kidney bean. This study will provide information for affected consumers and to do meaningful risk assessment.