Allergen Testing that you can trust
Food allergies have increased at an unprecedented rate during recent years. According to industry experts, food-related allergic reactions increased during the past years. Some of these reactions have a significant impact on quality of life or can lead to life-threatening anaphylactic shock within minutes.
Food intolerances such as lactose intolerance, gluten intolerance and celiac disease are also on the rise, with the latter being the most common genetic disease in Europe.
People with food allergies or intolerances must adhere to strict avoidance of their allergens or foods that cause reactions, so food manufacturers must provide detailed information about the contents, additives and cross-contamination risks for all food products. In addition, they must follow strict government regulations, which vary throughout the world.
How Eurofins can help
Food manufacturers typically utilize ELISA-based test system to detect specific proteins in food. There are also a number of PCR methods that are utilized for DNA detection.
Eurofins was the first laboratory to offer an additional test to analyse multiple allergens at the same time via the LC-MS/MS method. Please find more information in our "Allergen Multi-Screening" flyer.
Relevant products
- Dietary supplements (dietary food, food for diabetics)
- Baby food
- Bread and cookies (bread, bread rolls, pre-baked produces, baking mixtures)
- Cereals and muesli
- Meat and meat products
- Herbs and spices
- Convenience food
- Sweets
- Pet food
- Chocolate
- Many more
Specific analyses
EU:
In the EU, regulation No 1169/2011 requires all of the following allergens must be clearly identified in food:
- Vegetable allergens
- Cereals containing gluten
- Peanuts and products thereof
- Nuts (e.g. almonds, hazelnut, walnut, cashews, pecan nuts, Brazil nuts, pistachio nuts, macadamia or Queensland nuts)
- Lupin and products thereof
- Mustard and products thereof
- Celery and products thereof
- Sesame seeds and products thereof
- Soybeans and products thereof
- Animal allergens
- Milk and products thereof (including lactose)
- Fish and products thereof
- Eggs and products thereof
- Molluscs and products thereof
- Crustaceans and products thereof
- Pseudo allergens
- Sulphur dioxide
United States:
In the U.S., The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) of 2004 requires that the "top 8" allergens must be clearly listed in plain English in the ingredient list if the food contains them:
- Peanut
- Tree nuts
- Milk
- Egg
- Wheat
- Soy
- Fish
- Shellfish
Why Eurofins?
Eurofins is an industry leader in allergen testing and we offer a wide scope of detection methods for all relevant food allergens. Eurofins provides specialized knowledge of which ELISA kits yield best results for specific product groups for a given allergen. Our state-of-the-art labs and testing procedures are used to supply precise and accurate analytical data at high quality. We have a global team of highly experienced staff that will help you determine what tests you need and assist with your testing and quality management.
Questions?
Contact your local laboratory for more information about our services.