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Shimadzu Review 81[3・4] (2024)
Abstract
The designation of walnuts as a “specified ingredient” in Japan created a demand for assay methods that could detect walnut allergens in processed food and provide the information needed for appropriate food labeling. We have developed a sandwich ELISA that detects walnut 2S albumin, the major walnut allergen. The assay method was evaluated against 159 positive and negative samples and reacted appropriately to all walnut samples regardless of place of origin or heat treatment and did not react (<1 µg/g) to any negative samples except for nuts in the same plant family. These findings verified that the assay system we developed is highly specific. The assay method was also evaluated against various commercial processed foods that contain walnuts and reacted appropriately to all foods other than walnut oil and was not affected by other food components. The assay method was also evaluated by external laboratories to assess its suitability for use as a quantitative method. This external evaluation verified the assay method offered performance suitable for quantification of a specified food allergen. Based on the above findings, we have developed an assay method with suffi-cient performance for the quantitative determination of walnut allergens.
Shimadzu Diagnostics Corporation, Ibaraki, Japan
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