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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Food allergies are considered a signif
icant food-safety issue, whose preval
ence has been increasing mainly in
industrialized countries. The presence of non-declared allergens in food due to contamination during production or to
misleading labeling represents a potential high risk for allergic individuals. To protect sensitized individuals, highly
sensitive methods are required, especially for processed food
s. To answer this need, we have developed specific DNA-
based methods to detect soybean additi
on to meat products. The optimized speci
es-specific PCR technique targeting the
soybean lectin gene allowed the detection of 0.1% and 0.5% of soybean textured protein in raw and heat processed meat,
corresponding to levels of protein detection of 0.01% and 0.06%, respectively. We have also proposed a novel approach
by means of real-time quantitative PCR with fluorescent TaqMan
probes for the detection of soybean in processed meat
products in the range of 0.1% to 50%. The established
PCR assays were successfully applied in the detection and
quantification of soybean in processed meat products such as Frankfurters, hamburgers, poultry nuggets, containing pork
or poultry as the main meat ingredient.
For the detection of tree nut allergens, new PCR assays were proposed for almond and walnut were based on the design of
new primers targeting DNA coding for major allergens, on the use of real-time PCR with TaqMan probes and EvaGreen
dye. The results allowed the detection of as low as 0.005% of almond and 0.05% of walnut residues in model foods and
the effective application of th
e assays to processed foods.
Description
Keywords
Citation
Oliveira, B.; Mafra, I.; Costa, J.; Amaral, J.S.; Soares, S. (2011). Hidden allergens in food. In REQUIMTE 2011. Fátima, Portugal