European Regulation no. 1169/2011 requires that the 14 most important substances that can trigger allergies or intolerances be listed on the ingredient label of packaged product. The substances listed in Annex II of the Regulation (EU) no. 1169/2011 are: cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, fish, soybeans, milk, eggs, nuts, celery, mustard, lupine, sesame seeds, mollusks, sulfites, and also peanuts and products derived from peanuts.
The recent alert
Sometimes, identifying the allergen in food products is straightforward, but quite often it is not immediately clear that allergens are present, especially when the source of contamination are ingredients such as additives and processing aids.
The recent RASFF alert regarding the presence of peanut in lecithin is an example: not only the lecithin additive (Food Additive Code number 322) can be a product of soy, but it can also carry some other hidden allergens –in this case, peanuts.
Peanut as allergen
Peanuts are Leguminosae, commonly known as the legume or pea family, and peanut allergy is among the most frequent food allergies and the most common cause of anaphylaxis and fatal food reaction. Actually, peanuts are one of the food allergens most commonly associated with anaphylaxis, a sudden and potentially deadly allergic reaction that requires immediate attention and treatment.
The prevalence of peanut allergy increased 3.5-fold over the past two decades, reaching 1.4–2% in Europe and the United States (White paper on peanut allergy – part 1: Epidemiology, burden of disease, health economic aspects, 2021).
The analytical offer of Mérieux NutriSciences
Mérieux NutriSciences provides allergen analyses on several food matrices, including lecithin and chocolate and derivate products. The Research and Development team constantly works to improve analytical techniques for the determination and quantification of allergenic substances in food, with the aim of reduce the impact of some particularly difficult matrices (see lecithin) on false negatives and of some kits on false positives due to cross-reactions.
Currently, our laboratories offer two different analytical proposals for peanut: ELISA and PCR.
ELISA is considered the gold standard because it is targeted to allergenic proteins, however in lecithin the recovery of such proteins could be impacted by the production process and by interfering substances. For this reason to determine peanut in lecithin, Mérieux NutriSciences recommends carrying out the analysis by ELISA confirming the results by PCR technique, or by both techniques contemporary.