Food Allergen Testing at IEH-Warren Laboratories

As of January 1, 2006, all foods that contain allergens and are labeled under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act must comply with guidelines stated in the Food Allergen labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA).  Eight food groups have been designated by Congress as major food allergens:

 

Fish   Egg   Milk   Shellfish   Tree Nuts   Wheat   Peanuts   Soybeans

There are certainly other foods which can cause allergic reactions in consumers, but only the eight listed allergen groups are required to be listed on labels.  At this time, there are no defined or consensus threshold levels set by law.

 

Food allergic consumers can experience a life-threatening anaphylactic response from eating or even coming into contact with allergenic proteins from these foods.  The highest incidence of food allergies is found in young children, and often, entire households must go to great lengths to maintain allergen free foods and contact surfaces.  

Allergen information must be included on labels for most packaged food products that include an ingredient statement.  These include packaged foods with two or more ingredients, packaged, proportioned foods that are not intended to be eaten immediately (frosted cakes), and bulk foods sold in self-service bins.  Food manufacturers can comply with these new regulations by either placing a “Contains” statement on the label or by including the common name of the major food allergen directly in the ingredient statement followed by the source in parentheses.  With regard to allergen labels, incorrect ingredient statements have been responsible for a high percentage of product recalls.

 

IEH Warren Analytical can now test for almond, egg, Gliadin (found in wheat, rye, and barley), hazelnut, milk, peanut, and soy allergens.  Our labs use sandwich ELISAs (enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays) which compare product extracts against the specific allergen standard, resulting in highly precise and accurate estimates of the level of allergen in the food (if present in detectable amounts).  Our analysts are trained under ISO 17025 accredited methods, and utilize standard quality control techniques such as multiple blanks, duplicate samples, and spiked recovery samples to help ensure reliable results for  these important tests.  Standard turnaround times are guaranteed at 8-10 days, while priority results can be expedited for your critical test results.