Food allergy affects up to 6% of Europeans. Allergen identification is important for the risk assessment and management of the inadvertent presence of allergens in foods. The VITAL® initiative for voluntary incidental trace allergen labeling suggests protein reference doses, based on clinical reactivity in food challenge studies, at or below which voluntary labelling is unnecessary. Here, we investigated if current analytical methodology could verify the published VITAL® 2.0 doses, that were available during this analysis, in serving sizes between 5 and 500 g. Available data on published and commercial ELISA, PCR and mass spectrometry methods, especially for the detection of peanuts, soy, hazelnut, wheat, cow's milk and hen's egg were reviewed in detail. Limit of detection, quantitative capability, matrix compatibility, and specificity were assessed. Implications by the recently published VITAL® 3.0 doses were also considered. We conclude that available analytical methods are capable of reasonably robust detection of peanut, soy, hazelnut and wheat allergens for levels at or below the VITAL® 2.0 and also 3.0 doses, with some methods even capable of achieving this in a large 500 g serving size. Cow's milk and hen's egg are more problematic, largely due to matrix/processing incompatibility. An unmet need remains for harmonized reporting units, available reference materials, and method ring-trials to enable validation and the provision of comparable measurement results.

The parasitic nematode Anisakis simplex occurs in fish stocks in temperate seas. A. simplex contamination of fish products is unsavoury and a health concern considering human infection with live larvae (anisakiasis) and allergic reactions to anisakid proteins in seafood. Protein extracts of A. simplex produce complex band patterns in gel electrophoresis and IgE-immunostaining. In the present study potential allergens have been characterised using sera from A. simplex-sensitised patients and proteome data obtained by mass spectrometry. A. simplex proteins were homologous to allergens in other nematodes, insects, and shellfish indicating cross-reactivity. Characteristic marker peptides for relevant A. simplex proteins were described.

Food allergy is an important issue in the field of food safety because of the hazards for affected persons and the hygiene requirements and legal regulations imposed on the food industry. Consumer protection and law enforcement require suitable analytical techniques for the detection of allergens in foods. Immunological methods are currently preferred; however, confirmatory alternatives are needed. The determination of allergenic proteins by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry has greatly advanced in recent years, and gel-free allergenomics is becoming a routinely used approach for the identification and quantitation of food allergens. The present review provides a brief overview of the principles of proteomic procedures, various chromatographic set ups, and mass spectrometry instrumentation used in allergenomics. A compendium of published liquid chromatography methods, proteomic analyses, typical marker peptides, and quantitative assays for 14 main allergy-causing foods is also included.

Fungi of the genus Alternaria are ubiquitous plant pathogens and saprophytes which are able to grow under varying temperature and moisture conditions as well as on a large range of substrates. A spectrum of structurally diverse secondary metabolites with toxic potential has been identified, but occurrence and relative proportion of the different metabolites in complex mixtures depend on strain, substrate, and growth conditions. This review compiles the available knowledge on hazard identification and characterization of Alternaria toxins. Alternariol (AOH), its monomethylether AME and the perylene quinones altertoxin I (ATX-I), ATX-II, ATX-III, alterperylenol (ALP), and stemphyltoxin III (STTX-III) showed in vitro genotoxic and mutagenic properties. Of all identified Alternaria toxins, the epoxide-bearing analogs ATX-II, ATX-III, and STTX-III show the highest cytotoxic, genotoxic, and mutagenic potential in vitro. Under hormone-sensitive conditions, AOH and AME act as moderate xenoestrogens, but in silico modeling predicts further Alternaria toxins as potential estrogenic factors. Recent studies indicate also an immunosuppressive role of AOH and ATX-II; however, no data are available for the majority of Alternaria toxins. Overall, hazard characterization of Alternaria toxins focused, so far, primarily on the commercially available dibenzo-α-pyrones AOH and AME and tenuazonic acid (TeA). Limited data sets are available for altersetin (ALS), altenuene (ALT), and tentoxin (TEN). The occurrence and toxicological relevance of perylene quinone-based Alternaria toxins still remain to be fully elucidated. We identified data gaps on hazard identification and characterization crucial to improve risk assessment of Alternaria mycotoxins for consumers and occupationally exposed workers.