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Development of mass spectrometry-based methods for the analysis of vegan and vegetarian products for the presence of animal components
Project
Project code: MRI-NRZ-08-2096 vegan Authent
Contract period: 01.10.2020
- 30.09.2023
Purpose of research: Experimental development
Keywords: food, quality assurance, monitoring
According to the „Leitsätze für vegane und vegetarische Lebensmittel mit Ähnlichkeit zu Lebensmitteln tierischen Ursprungs“ vegetarian and vegan products must not contain meat derived ingredients. However, vegetarian products may contain egg- and milk-based ingredients. For the control of the presence/absence of animal components in such products, DNA-based methods are state-of-the-art (one PCR based methods will be published as official method according to § 64 LFGB in 2020). However, DNA based methods are not able to distinguish between DNA originating from egg or poultry meat and DNA originating from milk or dairy animals, which is especially critical for the evaluation of vegetarian products. In such cases, additional immunological tests such as ELISA tests are performed detecting ovalbumin or lactalbumin. Available immunological methods are very sensitive but they do not allow multiplexing and also lack the detection of animal components in the form of meat. In addition, ELISA methods are currently not allowed to become official methods according to § 64 LFGB. A peptide-based HPLC-MS/MS method will overcome the described disadvantages combining short run-times, high specificity, and the possibility for multiplex detection. In addition, the developed HPLC-MS/MS methods can serve as templates for official methods according to § 64 LFGB.
Section overview
Subjects
- Food Chemistry
- Food Processing