First ring-trial validation of real-time PCR methods for the quantification of allergenic food ingredients

The first interlaboratory validation of two food allergen quantification methods using real-time PCR is described. Methods for the specific detection and quantification of soybean and white mustard in boiled sausages were used. Matrix-based calibrants spiked with defined amounts of soybean and white mustard were applied for quantitative evaluation. The lowest spike level of 10 mg soybean and white mustard per kilogram could reproducibly be detected. Recovery in spiked sausages was between 82 and 99 % for soy and between 80 and 93 % for mustard. Reproducibility standard deviation was in the range that would be acceptable, for example, for quantitative GMO analytical methods (< 35 %).