Detection of Pseudo Allergens in Food

Sulfur dioxide and sulfites are compounds that can occur naturally and are commonly used for their preservative effects. They are allowed to be present in various foods, including dried fruits, breakfast sausages, and hamburger meat. They are used to extend the shelf life of products as well as to kill bacteria and are popular because they preserve the color of products and have a softening effect. Sulfur residues in foods are considered to be of low toxicity. However, it may cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals, such as asthma attacks, headaches, and nausea. Therefore, for prepackaged foods with levels exceeding 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/L (expressed as SO₂), the full name of the food or beverage in which it is present must be indicated on the label. People sensitive to SO₂ should read food labels carefully each time they purchase a food product, looking for the name of the SO₂, sulfite, and sulfite derivatives or their International Numbering System numbers (220, 221, 222, 223, 224, 225, 226, 227 and 228), and avoid all foods containing these compounds.

Solutions

Unlike most allergens, no protein or DNA can be extracted from sulfites. Our highly skilled scientists develop highly sensitive chemical methods to determine their presence in food. Our advanced technology platform will provide efficient, cost-effective sulfur dioxide and sulfite testing services to ensure your 100% satisfaction.

As a global allergen testing company, Lifeasible specializes in detecting and quantifying pseudo allergens in a wide range of foods, including dried fruits, pickles, sausages, fruit and vegetable juices, cider, vinegar, wine, etc. We offer customized procedures for detecting sulfur dioxide and sulfites in food.

Traditional Methods

1. Disperse the sample in an acidified solution to convert all sulfite forms to sulfur dioxide solution.
2. Flush-free sulfur dioxide from the refluxed acidified solution using a stream of nitrogen gas.
3. Sulfur dioxide gas is captured in a hydrogen peroxide solution for quantification.

Optimized Methods

1. Six-minute distillation in which sulfur dioxide is collected in a hydrogen peroxide trap solution.
2. This solution containing sulfuric acid is tested using ion chromatography with a conductivity detector, and the sulfate ions are separated and quantified by chromatography.

Advantages of Our Solutions

Traditional Methods

• A relatively simple procedure.
• This method is suitable for most sulfite food types and has a detection limit of approximately 10 ppm.
• Rapid distillation unit that allows distillation to be completed in less than 6 minutes.

Optimized Methods

• Save time and labor costs.
• Using this highly specific detection method.
• The sample is simply placed into the chromatography system to line up the run.
• The instrumental method provides specific and sensitive conductivity detection with detection limits as low as 2 ppm.

Lifeasible is committed to providing professional and customized solutions for detecting pseudo allergens in food to customers worldwide. We look forward to working with you, and you will benefit from our one-stop shop for everything from testing and reporting to the highest standards of post-analysis. If you are interested in our services, please feel free to contact us for more information.