Total cow’s milk protein in cookies: the first interlaboratory comparison with a well-defined measurand fit for food allergen risk assessment

A proficiency testing (PT) round was organised by the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) on the determination of the mass fraction of total cow milk protein in baked cookies. The PT was organised to support Commission Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers, including the mandatory allergen food labelling and the harmonisation of measurement procedures used on food allergen analysis. An incurred baked cookie was prepared at the JRC. Homogeneity and stability were demonstrated to be adequate and the assigned value was established independently from the results reported by the participants. Twenty three laboratories from the European Network of Food Allergen Detection Laboratories (ENFADL), representing twenty European Union (EU) Member States registered to the PT round. Their laboratory performance was assessed using the percent difference Di % performance score. The participating laboratories applied either enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) or liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS). Even though the majority of the laboratories used commercially available ELISA test kits, a significant scatter of the reported results was observed. The outcome indicated further harmonisation needs for measurement procedures aiming to determine potentially allergenic constituents in food.

CORDEIRO RAPOSO Fernando;  CUBERO LEON Elena;  NORGAARD Jorgen;  MARTINEZ ESTESO Maria José;  BROHEE Marcel;  BREIDBACH Andreas;  O'CONNOR Gavin;  CIZEK-STROH Aneta;  ROBOUCH Piotr;  EMONS Hendrik; 

2021-06-30

SPRINGER

JRC121557

0949-1775 (online),   

https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC121557,   

10.1007/s00769-021-01470-y (online),