AOAC ISPAM Food Allergen WG Meeting Book (12-15-16)

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AOAC ISPAM "Food Allergen" Working Group Questions/Comments Form

2016-12-09 14:10:08

Melanie Downs

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

12-09-2016

Title, Line 3; Section 2, Line 18: With respect to the use of both the words "chicken"

and "whole", a bit more clarity in the intent would be beneficial.

By inserting "chicken" to describe the source of egg, it may unintentionally disqualify

ELISA methods that detect chicken egg but also react with other bird eggs (e.g. duck,

turkey, etc.). While the primary purpose of the methods would be to detect and quantify

chicken egg, the SMPR should perhaps address what types and/or levels of cross-

reactivity with other species will be acceptable.

The use of "whole" may imply that egg white and egg yolk should be detected

equivalently. Most methods, however, would primarily detect egg white proteins, even

when whole dried egg is use as the method calibrant. It may be beneficial to discuss

and describe the extent to which methods are required to detect egg yolk and egg

white fractions independently.

Section 4, Lines 38-40: In the Definitions section, it would be useful to give some

thought as to whether definitions for both "allergens" and "commodities" are necessary.

If "allergens" are to be defined as allergenic source foods (similar to how most

regulations define food allergens), then a definition for commodities may create

additional confusion.

Section 4, Lines 76-78: The definition given in this section seems too specific to a

particular product for the purposes of this SMPR. The definition given is that of

refrigerated liquid whole eggs, as defined by the USDA FSIS. Given the complicated

regulatory authority for eggs in the United States (i.e. the FDA regulates in shell eggs,

while the USDA FSIS regulates egg products), it may be difficult to apply a regulatory

definition of whole egg for the purposes of this SMPR. (The FDA also does not have a

regulatory definition for "eggs", per 21 CFR 160.100.) It would be beneficial for this

working group to agree upon a simple definition for egg that suits the purposes of the

SMPR.