Processed foods protein-based method

Because allergenic food proteins are responsible for the sensitization and elicitation of allergic reactions, most detection methods have been based on the detection of these proteins. Alternatively, DNA has been suggested as a target for the detection of allergenic material in food. However, its use has been a controversial topic because the correlation between the presence of allergenic protein and DNA in processed food may not be constant. At least four factors may affect this correlation ... 

Rejeh SB, Abbott M, Davies D, et al. (2002). Immunochemical-based method for detection of hazelnut proteins in processed foods. J. AOAC Int., 86(3) 557-563. 

Food proteins are vital nutrients and possess functional properties that can be exploited to modify and stabilize processed food structure. Protein content is therefore a significant factor in determining the commercial value of major food commodities such as cereal grains and milk. As a result there is intense interest in the development of improved methods for food protein analysis and the separation mechanisms provided by CE have brought the technique to the forefront of recent developments. The majority of methods employ straightforward CZE and MEKC based methodology, but in some cases capillary gel electrophoresis (CGE) or SDS-CGE (available as commercial kits) are employed. These latter separation modes employ a gel-filled capillary that allows... 

Immunochemical methods are highly sensitive techniques for the detection and identification of protein targets by antigen-antibody specific reactions. Radial immunodilfusion and western blotting are among the most used techniques for the quantitative estimation of processed food and bioproduct proteins based on their immunoreactivity with specific antibodies. 

Extrusion is a cost effective manufacturing process. Extrusion is popularly used in large scale production of food, plastics and composite materials. Most widely used thermoplastics are processed by extrusion method. Many biopolymers and their composite materials with petroleum-based polymers can also be extruded. These include pectin/starch/poly(vinyl alcohol) (Fishman et al. 2004), poly(lactic acid)/sugar beet pulp (Liu et al. 2005c), and starch/poly(hydroxyl ester ether) (Otey et al. 1980), etc. In this study, composite films of pectin, soybean flour protein and an edible synthetic hydrocolloid, poly(ethylene oxide), were extruded using a twin-screw extruder, palletized and then processed into films by compression molding process or blown film extrusion. The films were analyzed for mechanical and structural properties, as well as antimicrobial activity. 

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