Milk protein concentrate (MPC) is a high-protein dairy product. It is underutilized due to its poor solubility compared with other milk protein products. This study aimed to investigate the effect of enzymatic hydrolysis on the physicochemical properties and solubility of MPC. Results showed that Alcalase hydrolysates possessed a higher degree of hydrolysis (DH) than Protamex and Flavourzyme hydrolysates. Similar results could be obtained using sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The molecular weight of the hydrolysate of Alcalase was less than 10 kDa. Changes to the molecular weight thereby led to a modification in the fluorescence intensity, Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry, and ultraviolet absorption. The solubility of all hydrolysates was significantly increased (p < 0.05). Correlation analysis showed a positive correlation between solubility, DH, and bitterness; the correlation coefficients were 0.81 for DH and 0.61 for bitterness. Electronic tongue analysis showed that the bitterness of Alcalase hydrolysates was the highest, while the values for Protamex hydrolysates were the lowest.

The increasing prevalence of food allergies is a significant challenge to global food health and safety. Various strategies have been deployed to decrease the allergenicity of food for preventing and reducing related disorders. Compared to other methods, fermentation has unique advantages in reducing the allergenicity of food and may represent a new trend in preventing food-induced allergies. This review introduces the characteristics of allergens in various foods, including shellfish, soy, peanut, milk, tree nut, egg, wheat, and fish. The mechanism and pathological symptoms of allergic reactions are then summarized. Furthermore, the advantages of fermentation for reducing the allergenicity of these foods and preventing allergies are evaluated. Fermentation is an efficient approach for reducing or eliminating food allergenicity. Simultaneously, it improved the nutritional value and physicochemical properties of food materials. It is conceivable that a combination of mixed strain fermentation with additional processing, such as heat treatment, pulsed light, and ultrasonication, will efficiently reduce the allergenicity of various foods and preserve their unique taste and nutritional components, providing significance for patients with allergies.

The increasing incidence of food allergy cases is a public health problem of global concern. Producing hypoallergenic foods with high quality, low cost, and eco-friendly is a new trend for the food industry in the coming decades. Food irradiation, a non-thermal food processing technology, is a powerful tool to reduce the allergenicity with the above advantages. This review presents a summary of recent studies about food irradiation to reduce the allergenicity of food, including shellfish, soy, peanut, milk, tree nut, egg, wheat and fish. Principles of food irradiation, including mechanisms of allergenicity-reduction, irradiation types and characteristics, are discussed. Specific effects of food irradiation are also evaluated, involving microbial decontamination, improvement or preservation of nutritional value, harmful substances reduction of food products. Furthermore, the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of food irradiation are analyzed. It is concluded that food irradiation is a safety tool to reduce the allergenicity of food effectively, with high nutritional value and long shelf-life, making it a competitive alternative technology to traditional techniques such as heating treatments. Of note, a combination of irradiation with additional processing may be a trend for food irradiation.