BIOTECON Diagnostics have extended their foodproof® real-time PCR kits range by launching food allergen kits. The first to be introduced are the foodproof® Celery Detection Kit and the foodproof® Gluten Detection Kit. More allergen kits for the detection of soy, peanut and hazelnut will follow soon. In combination with the foodproof® Sample Preparation Kit III for the extraction of plant DNA, this kits allows simple and safe detection of allergens in all kind of foods.

The foodproof® Sample Preparation Kit III allows the extraction of highly purified DNA even from complex foods or processed matrices. To validate the foodproof® Allergen Detection Kits final products, raw materials and swab samples have been successfully tested. The kit cannot be only used for foods, finished products and raw materials, but also for validating cleaning operations.

In addition, BIOTECON Diagnostics has developed a standardized reference material, Allergen RM 800, to create a standard curve for exact quantification. More allergen kits for the detection of mustard, sesame, lupine and crustacean will be developed next year.

Also it is planned to develop multiplex kits, to detect up to three different allergen-parameters within one reaction.

According to EU-regulation 2007/68/EG 14, different allergenic ingredients have to be labelled in Europe on the products. Until now there is no threshold value in Europe or elsewhere. Therefore, the zero tolerance rule applies, even foods that only contain traces of allergens have to be labelled accordingly.

Further information can be found on www.bc-diagnostics.com.