Food allergens are proteins contained in food, which, even in small concentrations, can pose a real threat to groups of consumers suffering from allergies or food intolerances. It is estimated that about 2% of the adult population and up to 8% of children suffer from it.
However, in the last two decades, there has been a significant increase in the number of cases of food allergies, especially among the youngest. A food allergy reaction happens as the result of the immune response to a food or an ingredient that the body identify it as a risk.
Symptoms of a food allergy can vary from mild to severe. Even a trace amount of a food to which someone is allergic to can be life-threatening. The most severe allergic reaction is anaphylaxis which can impair the breathing, cause a drop in the blood pressure and affect the heart rate. The most common allergenic foods often referred to as the “BIG 8” are milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, fish and crustacean shellfish. These eight types of foods are responsible for almost 90% of all food allergies.
Proper labeling and declaration of the allergen presence in any processed food are mandatory in the US, EU, Canada, Japanese, Australia and New Zealand. The omission to list allergens contained in a food product poses a serious threat to food safety and is the most common reason for product recalls in the European Union and the United States. Following the new food safety requirements and regulations, ProGnosis Biotech developed a new line of products Allergen-Shield ELISA kits which quantitively detect the presence of the most common food allergens such as milk, eggs, gluten, soy, tree nuts, peanuts, etc. Our Allergen-Shield ELISA kits are designed to use eco-friendly sample extraction buffer provided in the kit with the total ELISA testing time of only 30 minutes.
ProGnosis Biotech Allergen-Shield ELISA tests (will be) are accredited by the Accreditation Body of Serbia and it will be used by INEP (Institute for the Application of Nuclear Energy) with the research publication to follow. Accreditation by a recognized body adds credibility to the tests, and the involvement of INEP demonstrates the importance and usefulness of the kits in food safety testing. The mention of research publication indicates that ProGnosis Biotech is committed to conducting research to validate the performance of their Allergen-Shield ELISA tests. This is an important step in establishing the reliability and accuracy of the tests and can help build trust among consumers and the food industry.
