Allergens in Foods

A considerable proportion of the general public experiences negative health effects triggered by certain components contained in their habitual diet. Susceptible persons can develop an intolerance, e.g. against lactose, due to the lack of a digestive enzyme, some can not tolerate certain food additives or increased levels of certain amino acids, e.g. glutamate, and others suffer from adverse reactions mediated by the immune system. The latter is characterised by the action of IgE antibodies against the offending food and is known as food allergy. The symptoms caused by allergic reactions range from rather mild manifestations (urticaria) to life threatening events (anaphylactic shock). Therapeutic approaches to treat food allergies have been tried with variable success. Usually the recommended option is to eliminate from the diet the food(s) or food ingredients to which hypersensitivity has been found. Allergic persons need to know whether the food items they purchase contain allergenic ingredients; they have to rely on the truthfulness of information given on the label of prepared and packaged food items. National and supra-national legislation has been put in place which requires food business operators to declare whether ingredients with a known allergenic potential have been used during manufacturing. The Codex Alimentarius General Standard for the Labelling of Prepacked Food requires, for example, the mandatory labelling of the presence of eight classes of food ingredients that are known to cause hypersensitivity in susceptible consumers (cereals containing gluten, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, and tree nuts), while European Community legislation (Commission Directive 2007/68/EC) extends the list to include also celery, mustard, sesame seeds, lupin, and molluscs. Analytical testing systems are needed by the food industry to enable them to test whether allergens are present in their raw materials, the finished products and whether production lines have been correctly sanitised, by the food inspection authorities for market surveillance and by academia to enable and stimulate research into food allergy and allergen detection. In this issue of Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry we attempted bringing together views from different angles. The majority of the reviews and original contributions focus on analytical aspects; however, biochemical, immunological and clinical aspects are covered as well.JRC.D.8-Food safety and qualit

Proficiency Test on the Determination of 3-MCPD Esters in Edible Oil - Final Report

The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre (JRC) was requested by the Directorate General Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) to organise a proficiency test on the determination of 3-MCPD esters in edible oils. The aim of this test was to evaluate the comparability of analysis results gained by European laboratories. The organisation of the study as well as the evaluation of the results was done in accordance with ¿The International Harmonised Protocol for the Proficiency Testing of Analytical Chemistry Laboratories¿ and ISO standard 43. Altogether 41 laboratories from 11 EU Member States, Switzerland and Macedonia subscribed for participation in the study. The participants were asked to determine the 3-MCPD esters content of the test samples by application of their in-house analysis methods. In total, 34 sets of results were reported to the organisers of the study. The performance of laboratories for the oil samples was expressed by z-scores and by relative bias for the 3-MCPD standard solution in sodium chloride. The percentage of successful laboratories in the determination of the 3-MCPD esters in contaminated palm oil sample was 56 % and in spiked sample of extra virgin oil 85 %. The study revealed that the application of a particular analysis procedure might lead to strong positive bias.JRC.DG.D.6-Food Safety and Qualit

Proficiency Test on the Determination of Mineral Oil in Sunflower Oil

The Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) of the European Commission¿s Joint Research Centre (JRC) was requested by the Directorate General Health and Consumers (DG SANCO) to organise a proficiency test on the determination of mineral oil in sunflower oil. The aim of this test was to evaluate the comparability of analysis results gained by laboratories in EU and in Ukraine. The study was free of charge for the participants. The organisation of the study as well as the evaluation of the results was done in accordance with 'The International Harmonised Protocol for the Proficiency Testing of Analytical Chemistry Laboratories' and ISO 43. Altogether 62 laboratories from 19 EU Member States, Switzerland and Ukraine subscribed for participation in the study. The participants were asked to determine the mineral oil content in the test samples by application of their in-house analysis methods. In total, 55 sets of results were reported to the organisers of the study. The performance of laboratories for the oil samples was expressed by z-scores and by relative bias for the mineral oil solution in n-heptane. The percentage of successful laboratories in the determination of the mineral oil content of sunflower oil was for all sunflower oil test materials about 80 %JRC.D.8-Food safety and qualit

Melamine Proficiency Test 2009 - Assessing the Capabilities of Control Laboratories to Measure Melamine in Skimmed Milk Powder and Starch-containing Foods

A proficiency test to assess the capabilities of laboratories in the EU and beyond to determine melamine in a milk powder and a baking mix, representing starch-containing foods like bread and biscuits, was carried out in January of 2009 by the Joint Research Centre upon request of the European Commission¿s Directorate-General for Health and Consumer Protection (DG SANCO). The need for such an interlaboratory comparison arose from a health scare in China in 2008 about melamine tainted powdered milk. Laboratories of 31 countries, including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, the United States of America, and 21 of the 27 Member States of the European Union, participated and reported back 114 results for the milk powder and 112 for the baking mix test materials. The reported results were compared to reference values determined by exact-matching double isotope dilution mass spectrometry. The so determined assigned values were 10.0±0.6 mg/kg melamine in the milk powder and 3.18±0.17 mg/kg melamine in the baking mix. A coverage factor k of 2 was applied to calculate the expanded uncertainties. Three-quarters of all reported results for both materials had associated z-scores which were satisfactory (z=|2|). 90% of the results were accompanied by a measurement uncertainty statement and the majority of the measurement uncertainty ranges were reasonable. A number of laboratories were found to underestimate their measurement uncertainties. Isotope dilution mass spectrometry with stable-isotope labelled melamine was shown to be clearly advantageous with regards to the accuracy of the results. However, no significant influence by other method parameters could be identified.JRC.D.8-Food safety and qualit

Technical analysis of anomalies in respect of the test set out in point (b) of Article 2(3) of Regulation (EC) No 900/2008 for the determination of milk fat content in processed agricultural products for the purpose of establishing import duties, when fats other than milk fat are present Final Report - Administrative Arrangement S12.670777-1 between DG Enterprise and Industry (DG ENTR) and Joint Research Centre (JRC)

The agricultural element (EA) of certain processed agricultural products (PAPs) is an element of the tariff classification and the determination of import duties of imported products. Commission Regulation (EC) No 900/2008 lays down provisions and analysis methods for certain parameters necessary for the determination of the agricultural element. The milk fat content is one of the parameters related to the agricultural element. A problem became apparent when the analysis of an instantised whey protein concentrate (WPC) imported from the USA into the EU revealed that the milk fat contained in the product was much below the expected one. This caused the classification of the product under a different additional code in the “Meursing” table, leading to a disadvantage of the importer. The Administrative Arrangement (AA) S12.670777-1 between DG Enterprise (DG ENTR) and DG Joint Research Centre (DG JRC) was set up to elucidate the reasons for this anomaly, to characterise the magnitude of the underestimation across relevant dairy products, and to propose a solution for the determination of the appropriate additional tariff code of concerned PAPs.JRC.D.5-Standards for Food Bioscienc

Equivalence testing of histamine methods - Final Report

Histamine fish poisoning is an allergy-like form of food poisoning that continues to be a major problem in seafood safety. The FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius as well as EU legislation have therefore set maximum limits for histamine in fish and fish products. The analytical methods requested by Codex and by EU are different and concern has been raised that this could lead to disputes in the international trade of seafood. This report describes the outcome of a study, commissioned by DG Health and Consumers and carried out by DG Joint Research Centre, that compared the performance of the method for determining histamine in fish as mandated by Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 to the method mandated in Codex Alimentarius Standard 165-1989. The EU mandated method is based on HPLC separation of histamine and subsequent detection by a UV detector. It was published in the Journal of AOAC International, but has not been validated by a collaborative study. The Codex method is AOAC 977.13, which is a based on the formation of a fluorescent derivative of histamine and subsequent measurement in a fluorimeter; it has been validated by collaborative trial. The correct implementation of both methods by JRC was assessed by carrying out performance verification studies using various canned and fresh scromboid fish samples (tuna, macrel, and herring) taken from the Belgian market. Repeatability (RSDr) and intermediate precision (RSDip) as well as recovery data were generated. Both methods conformed to specifications. Various approaches were followed to test the equivalency of both methods, which were based on statistical hypothesis testing (t-test), regression analysis and benchmarking against established reference values. All approaches indicated that the two methods are not fully equivalent. The EU mandated method has a tendency to overestimate, while the Codex method has a tendency to underestimate the histamine content in fish. It was recognised that the EU mandated method was very accurate when applied to fresh tuna. A distinct matrix influence was noticed for all other fish species tested, leading to an overestimation of the histamine content. It is therefore recommended to optimise the EU method so that matrix effects can be eliminated, or at least taken into account in an appropriate manner, In addition, a collaborative trial for the HPLC method to establish reproducibility data for the method should be organised. In line with current practice the collaborative study should also require to correct the reported data for recovery. Furthermore, as an ad-hoc measure the replacement of the HPLC method mentioned in Regulation (EC) No 2073/2005 by a ring-tested HPLC method, which are already available, could be considered.JRC.D.5-Standards for Food Bioscienc

Certification of the crude Protein, Fat, Lactose and Ash Content of whole Milk Powder and the crude Protein and Fat Content of Skim Milk Powder, BCR-380R & BCR-685

This report describes the preparation of two milk powder reference materials and the measurement exercises that led to the certification of the content (mass fraction) of the crude protein (Kjeldahl-N x 6.38), fat, lactose and ash in whole milk powder (BCR-380R) and crude protein (Kjeldahl-N x 6.38) and fat in skim milk powder (BCR-685).JRC.D.2-Reference material

The Certification of the Mass Fractions of Proximates and Essential Elements in Rye Flour and Wheat Flour -- Certified Reference Materials ERM®-BC381 and ERM®-BC382

This report describes the preparation of the rye flour matrix reference materials ERM®BC381 and ERM®-BC382, respectively, and the certification of the contents (mass fractions) of four proximates and four essential elements. All results are expressed as a mass fraction on a dry mass basis. The preparation and processing of the materials, homogeneity studies, stability studies and characterisation are described hereafter and the results are discussed. Uncertainties were calculated in compliance with Guide to the expression of Uncertainty in Measurement (GUM) and include uncertainties due to possible heterogeneity, instability and from characterisation.JRC.DDG.D.2-Reference material

Evaluation of the Effect of Mycotoxin Binders in Animal Feed on the Analytical Performance of Standardised Methods for the Determination of Mycotoxins in Feed: Follow-up Study

This report deals with the follow-up study on the evaluation of the effect of mycotoxin binders in animal feed on the analytical performance of standardised methods for the determination of mycotoxins in feed. The study covers the following aspects: influence of the addition of mycotoxin binders to animal feeding stuffs with recommended limits for mycotoxins much lower (approximately one order of magnitude) than those tested in the previous study (i.e. DON in complementary and complete feeding stuffs for pigs and ZEA in complementary and complete feeding stuffs for piglets and gilts) and possible effects of binder addition and feed processing (pelletizing) on the analytical performance of the standardised (CEN) method for determination of AFB1 in feed.JRC.D.5-Standards for Food Bioscienc