Advances in OrbitrapTM based analytical methods for food allergen management

Food allergy (FA) is a relatively new food safety issue still deemed to be on the rise in the recent years and with an increasing number of food allergens identified and a growing number of consumers suffering from FA. No actual cure currently exists for food allergy and therefore food allergic consumers can only manage their condition by carefully avoiding products which contain the allergenic food(s). In order to address this effectively, food allergic consumers absolutely rely on the availability, accuracy and reliability of information provided on foods they intend to buy, resulting in the urgent need for specific labeling legislation. On this regard, the European Union (EU) is very restrictive, with the last Directive 2007/68/EC requiring the mandatory labeling of a total of 14 allergenic ingredients, whenever used and irrespective of the amounts, on the respective food label with few exemption cases also listed in the same Directive [1]. This regulatory framework is intended to provide consumers with information about allergens when they are introduced in foods as ingredients; however, allergens may also inadvertently contaminate the food when manufacturing processes and control measures are not adequate to prevent cross-contact between allergen-containing and allergen-free foods then becoming "hidden allergens". This last represents the major threat for allergic consumers and for food manufacturers, the latter being responsible for the safety of food products brought onto the market. In the last two decades, mass spectrometry has played a pivotal role in proteomic research being the election method for protein identification in complex mixtures. Such MS approach has been implemented in the food allergen field proving to be a reliable confirmatory tool overcoming the objective limitations of antibody-based kits commercially available, accounted by epitope masking phenomena or epitope modification occurring upon application of thermal treatments [2]. Additional advantages rely on the possibility to run multiple-allergen analysis in one shot, quantitative analysis, structural protein elucidation, characterization of protein modifications and epitope mapping. In the last five year, our Institute actively contributed to such research field thanks to the acquisition of last-generation high resolution mass spectrometers (HR-MS) based on OrbitrapTM technology with very high selectivity and sensitivity achieved in the food allergen detection methods developed [3-5]. In the present communication, different examples of our achievements will be presented and critically discussed, highlighting the relevance and benefit of the accurate mass detection of allergens markers for the fulfillment of specific objectives. Features and analytical performances of different HR-MS platforms were investigated and will be thoroughly discussed along with their strengths and weaknesses applied to the multi-allergen screening in different food matrices.