As well as providing a rapid and convenient test for the detection of gluten residues on food processing surfaces, Hygiena’s AllerFlow Gluten is equally effective at detecting gluten in liquid samples, making it ideal for final rinse water samples. This means that the simplicity and convenience of AllerFlow Gluten can be applied to both surfaces and liquid samples and a wider range of food and beverage manufacturers.

AllerFlow Gluten is a rapid and convenient test for the detection of gluten as part of an allergen monitoring program. It is specific to the gliadin R12 allergenic fraction found in wheat, barley and rye, with no cross reactivity with soy, rice or corn. Unlike many commercial multi-component tests, AllerFlow makes gluten testing easier than ever before, due to the combination of Hygiena’s patented snap valve technology for convenient sample collection devices and classical lateral flow technology. Simply swab, snap and pour the fluid into the sample fill aperture on the cassette.

The result is seen in 10 minutes where a pass is indicated when a single blue line appears at ‘C’ (control), which means that the sample contains less than 5µg (5ppm) gluten. If the samples indicate greater than 5ppm gluten, then a red line will appear on the cassette indicating a fail and the more intense the colour, the more gluten is present.

For food and beverage processing equipment that has been cleaned-in-place (CIP), it is often difficult to collect a sample using a swab to verify the hygienic status. Under these circumstances, a representative sample can be obtained from the final rinse water that will have been in contact with internal surfaces. Laboratory tests and factory trials have shown that AllerFlow Gluten can also be used with 1 ml liquid samples without any loss of sensitivity detecting down to 5ppm. Rinse water samples have been used successfully by food manufacturers and also by brewers monitoring the change over from beer to cider processing to verify the absence of gluten residues in processing equipment.

AllerFlow Gluten complements other Hygiena tests for allergen control that offer a simple, rapid and cost effective verification. These include AllerSnap, a test for verifying allergens removed from surfaces and SuperSnap, for high-sensitivity ATP testing supporting allergen control.

For a copy of the white paper on allergen control and cleaning verification, please contact Hygiena at contactus@hygiena.com.