Allergen control in the food industry is one of the pillars of modern food safety. Managing the risk of cross-contamination, verifying cleanliness, and proper documentation within the HACCP plan are more necessary today than ever before.

However, the real challenge lies not only in specific and sensitive detection, but also in conducting reliable testing and managing information in a structured manner.

Welcome to Allergen Control 4.0: effective detection, objective result reading, and integrated digital traceability.

Effective detection: decisions in minutes with ready-to-use tests

The first step in effective allergen control is being able to immediately verify what is happening on the production plant. And this requires well-designed sampling.

Rapid tests are the best solution for verifying the effectiveness of cleaning processes, validating production changes, analyzing raw materials, and confirming the absence of cross-contamination in the final product.

This type of control brings agility to the quality department and allows decisions to be made at the right time, reducing risks and avoiding costs associated with recalls.

But speed alone does not make a process highly efficient. Allergen analysis also includes other elements. For example, having a kit with all reagents ready to use simplifies the testing steps; ensuring proper extraction of the allergen from the food using a specific protocol guarantees the reliability of the test; and having a portable system for on-site analysis reduces work time and the need to transport samples.

These considerations are the starting point for allergen control, but we must also take into account the value of,

Objective reading: eliminating uncertainty in the result

One of the biggest challenges in rapid tests is the visual interpretation of the result and its recording. Questions such as: Does the detection band indicate a very weak positive or is it negative? Does the interpretation vary depending on the operator evaluating the result? Could the information be questioned during an audit if I only have a handwritten record?

The incorporation of an objective optical reading system for the tests eliminates subjectivity and standardizes the results. This improves reproducibility, strengthens internal reliability and provides greater assurance for IFS, BRC, or ISO 22000 audits. When interpretation no longer depends on individual judgment and becomes automated, control gains consistency and errors are minimized.

A standardized interpretation criterion, with a validated cutoff point, consistently distinguishes positive results from negative ones regardless of the operator or the time of the test. The numerical values of these results serve as a key reference, both for interpreting the test and for comparing it with subsequent and future tests.

Objectivity brings us to the final element under consideration,

Digital traceability: from the result to the structured supporting record

Digitization is the next natural step. Recording results digitally allows for:

• Identify the sample, lot, operator, date, test type, etc.
• Store results in a structured manner.
• Retrieve historical data immediately.
• Export data for analysis or audits.
• Share information among quality managers.
• Demonstrate best practices in our processes over time.

Digital traceability in allergen control not only facilitates regulatory compliance but also turns data into a management tool. Organizations need to have reliable, traceable, and accessible information at all times.

Digitizing results makes data available faster and enables real-time sharing. These processes can be streamlined by storing results in the cloud. This way, all managers can access the data or receive real-time updates via email.

In summary, a comprehensive allergen control system must include a combination of:

• Ready-to-use rapid tests for immediate decisions.
• An objective reading to eliminate interpretation errors.
• Digital management to ensure traceability.

This strategy transforms the traditional approach into a modern, connected system.

Allergen Control 4.0 is not just about testing, but about how you do it to integrate detection, interpretation, and documentation into a single workflow.

In an environment where food safety is critical and audits are becoming increasingly demanding, having a structured system makes all the difference.

Zeulab continues to provide simple and innovative solutions that help the industry ensure food quality and safety.

For more information, please contact us at marketing@zeulab.com.

Zeulab presents the new Microlab Basic Listeria monocytogenes Plus, the rapid test that allows the detection of Listeria spp. and the confirmation of Listeria monocytogenes in a single assay, using the same enrichment and with a visual reading in just 15 minutes.

In the day-to-day operations of the food industry, every hour counts. Plants need to know as soon as possible whether a sample is negative for Listeria in order to release product, reduce holds, and avoid production delays. Until now, differentiating between Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes involved more steps, longer waiting times, and slower decision-making. With Microlab Basic Listeria monocytogenes Plus, this bottleneck disappears.

Thanks to the dual detection of Listeria spp. and Listeria monocytogenes on the same rapid strip and the unique design of the methodology, this solution allows you to:

• Obtain a negative result for Listeria spp. and L. monocytogenes in just 27 hours, making possible to discard contamination-free samples sooner and release product faster.
• When the result at 27 hours is positive on both the Listeria spp. and the Listeria monocytogenes detection bands, confirm the presence of this pathogen in the sample in less than of 1 day.
• When the result at 27 hours is positive only for the Listeria spp. detection band, extend enrichment to 48 hours and perform a second test to confirm the presence or absence of L. monocytogenes in the sample.

A solution designed for the industry, ideal for daily self-monitoring in:

• wet areas, chambers and cold rooms, contact and non-contact surfaces.
• processed and ready-to-eat products.
• raw materials.

Benefits for the industry

• Faster decision-making thanks to early detection at 27 hours.
• Shorter holding times and more agile product release processes.
• A simple method with a single enrichment for both determinations in the same rapid test.
• Visual readout in 15 minutes, without instrumentation.
• Clear information to differentiate an environmental issue (Listeria spp.) from a real risk (Listeria monocytogenes).

At Zeulab, we continue to develop simple and innovative tools that help the industry ensure environmental hygiene, protect consumers, and optimize processing times.

Zeulab continues to provide simple and innovative solutions that help the industry ensure food quality and safety.

For more information, please contact us at marketing@zeulab.com.

A dairy industry can receive up to 40 tanks of milk per day. The control of antibiotics at the reception of the plant is a very critical moment, both due to the economic consequences and the management of contaminated milk. Moreover, the stress that can generate in responsible personnel (operators, quality manager, plant manager, etc.) who must make important decisions should not be underestimated.

When a tank gives a positive result, the alarms go off, the truck is blocked and a rapid process of evaluating the information begins to verify that:

• The operator has not made an error when carrying out the test.
• The visual interpretation of the results is correct.
• Reagents or test equipment have not failed.

When using older generation tests the risks may be due to:

• The user has not properly resuspended the lyophilized pink reagent with the pipette.
• The user has not well controlled the 2 assay steps of 3 + 3 minutes, placing the test strip at the wrong time.
• The visual interpretation was not clear.
• The reagents and materials were difficult to handle due to their small dimensions.

Duplex&Iris solves all these problems:

• The test is ready to use, with an easy-to-use and one-step format.
• The test is automatic, it is not dependent on the qualification of the operator.
• The interpretation is objective, numerical and independent of the person.
• The results are shared in real time for evaluation by quality personnel.

The implementation of the new generation Duplex&Iris tests provides immediate and important benefits:

• The credibility of the quality director will not be questioned because errors in analysis are minimized.
• Staff stress due to the uncertainty about the reliability of the results will be considerably reduced.
• The analysis information will be clear and easy to verify.

The cheapest price is not always the most cost-effective and beneficial solution. Minimizing daily problems due to errors can represent a great benefit and peace of mind for all the staff involved.

Do you need information about the product?

Request the leaflets, product instructions and/or Power Point presentations to marketing@zeulab.com

MICROLAB IS A SAFE SOLUTION FOR PATHOGEN SELF-TESTING

Microlab is a unique solution for Salmonella and Listeria testing because:

• It is 100% safe. It can be performed in the food industry without the risk of contaminating the plant due to an accident.
• It is simple. It can be performed by non-qualified personnel without the need of a laboratory.
• It is ready-to-use. The device integrates all the material necessary for the analysis, including its inactivation.

The benefits for the user are very high when:

• It needs a quick result to release its product to the market. For example, ready-to-eat foods.
• It does not have the technical and financial resources to have an in-house laboratory and qualified staff.
• It does not have the time, both to prepare its own reagents and to perform a multi-step assay that will require dedication and concentration.

Microlab is the solution for any food industry that does not currently carry out a Salmonella and Listeria analysis in its plant because it does not have the resources but needs a quick self-control to release its goods.

MICROLAB BASIC FOR CUSTOMERS WITH A LABORATORY

Some industries or independent laboratories may have a small laboratory and sufficient qualification to be able to carry out their own analyses easily.

Microlab Basic is the solution for these customers because:

• The kit includes all the components to prepare the enrichment medium and perform the detection step with a rapid test.
• It can perform a simple and quick test. It just has to follow good laboratory practices to work with these samples and to inactivate them at the end of the assay.
• The technical specifications are identical to those of Microlab.
• The price is lower.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS OF MICROLAB AND MICROLAB BASIC

Microlab Salmonella and Microlab Listeria have been evaluated by the Performance Tested Methods^SM programme of the AOAC Research Institute.

Do you need information about Microlab and Microlab Basic?

Request the leaflets, product instructions and/or Power Point presentations to marketing@zeulab.com

Avoiding nuts cross-contamination in your food  products by using rapid allergen tests.

Nut allergy is one of the most common allergies in childhood, causing one of the most severe anaphylactic reactions. Depending on the characteristics of the diet, allergenic foods will vary from one geographical area to another. Thus, the peanut is the nut that causes the most allergic reactions in the United States, while in Europe it is the hazelnut.

Therefore, the food industry is faced with the responsibility to ensure consumer safety by properly labelling nut-containing products and preventing cross-contamination of nuts during production in nut-free products.

One of the tools that the food industry has adopted to control the presence of nuts and prevent cross contamination is the use of rapid allergen detection strips. These rapid strips offer manufacturers an effective and rapid approach to identifying the presence of allergenic nut proteins in foods and surfaces, allowing companies to take immediate action to prevent cross-contamination and ensure foods are safe to consume. Among the advantages offered by the use of quick strips are:

• Speed: These strips provide results in minutes, allowing food companies to perform real-time testing during production.
• Ease of use: The strips are simple to use and do not require sophisticated laboratory equipment. Production staff can perform tests efficiently.
• Sensitivity and specificity: The strips are designed to detect specific allergens with high sensitivity and specificity, minimizing false positives or negatives.
• Cross-contamination prevention: Early detection of allergens helps prevent cross-contamination in production facilities and ensures that final products are free of undeclared allergens.
• Regulatory Compliance: Using rapid allergen detection strips helps companies comply with food labelling regulations and standards, which is critical for transparency and food safety.

Zeulab continues working to help the food industry with rapid strips for the determination of nuts, in this case the solution for the detection of walnuts (PROTEON EXPRESS WALNUT) has been developed that completes the current solutions for the detection of hazelnuts (PROTEON EXPRESS HAZELNUT) and almond (PROTEON EXPRESS ALMOND).

Food industries that work with allergens know the importance of having cleaning protocols in place capable of preventing any risk of allergen cross-contamination between different products made on the same production lines.

Although they may be efficient from a hygienic standpoint, cleaning protocols may be ineffective in removing allergens. Visual inspection is insufficient to guarantee complete removal of allergens so a proper cleaning protocol must be designed. It must then be validated and routinely verified by analytical methods that determine the presence or absence of allergens on the production lines.

The validation stage is to show that the designed cleaning protocol is adequate and meets the objective of eliminating allergens, usually by quantitative analytical methods. An example is an ELISA test, which can determine allergen concentration on a production line before and after the application of the cleaning protocol; thus determining whether the designed cleaning protocol is capable of removing allergens below the safety threshold.

After validation, the cleaning process has to be verified in practice; thus demonstrating that, each time the cleaning process is used, it works as designed and validated with no deviations. In other words, the cleaning process must be capable of removing allergens every time it is used. For this, qualitative methods such as rapid strips can be used, to confirm the absence or presence of the allergen according to the safety threshold.

Quick strips can verify the cleaning process in just 10 minutes, thus allowing food companies to continue with their daily production protocols. In addition, this can be done by any production line operator, as they do not require specific equipment or trained personnel.

ZEULAB offers fast and simple analytical solutions to verify the absence of the main food allergens in production lines.

Microcystins detection

The quality of water intended for human consumption is one of the main concerns globally. Health criteria are increasingly strict and include new analytical parameters for quality determination, such as the detection of microcystins.

Microcystins are toxins generated by the uncontrolled growth of cyanobacteria present in water under specific conditions of temperature, light or with the presence of nutrients or metals; over 80 variants with toxic capacity have been classified.

Several studies show the relationship between these toxins and different allergic and stomach pathologies in humans and animals, which are considered by the WHO as promoters of liver or colon cancer in the medium and long term.

For these reasons, there is a new Royal Decree with stricter technical and health criteria for the supply and quality control of drinking water to increase public protection against any adverse effects. This transposes the Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on the quality of water intended for human consumption and replaces RD 140/2003; it includes a new series of analytical parameters to determine drinking water quality.

METHODOLOGY

At Zeulab, we have developed a microcystin detection kit based on the use of biological targets, specifically phosphatase inhibition, to determine the potential toxicity of the sample. It detects all variants regardless of their chemical structure and will reflect the potential toxicity associated with the water sample. It can be used to analyse both natural water and water in the process of being purified, and can identify both free and intracellular toxins.

This methodology reproduces the mechanism of action of microcystins in humans and is based on the ability of phosphatase to hydrolyse a substrate, forming a product detectable at 405 nm. The enzymatic activity of phosphatase is inhibited by microcystins proportionally to their amount in the sample.

In addition to determining the potential toxicity of the sample, Microcytest is notable for its simplicity of use. The test is easily implementable in laboratories and provides very quick results in less than 1 hour.

Assay procedure:

The quality of water intended for human consumption is one of the main concerns globally. Health criteria are increasingly strict and include new analytical parameters for quality determination, such as the detection of microcystins.

Microcystins are toxins generated by the uncontrolled growth of cyanobacteria present in water under specific conditions of temperature, light or with the presence of nutrients or metals; over 80 variants with toxic capacity have been classified.

Several studies show the relationship between these toxins and different allergic and stomach pathologies in humans and animals, which are considered by the WHO as promoters of liver or colon cancer in the medium and long term.

For these reasons, there is a new Royal Decree with stricter technical and health criteria for the supply and quality control of drinking water to increase public protection against any adverse effects. This transposes the Directive (EU) 2020/2184 on the quality of water intended for human consumption and replaces RD 140/2003; it includes a new series of analytical parameters to determine drinking water quality.

Food allergens are proteins with very different physical and chemical properties and size. Some processes, such as fermentation, hydrolysis or high heat treatment, can alter their chemical structure and reduce their allergenic properties, although not completely eliminating them. These treatments can also, therefore, affect the detection capacity of allergen tests.

The methods commonly used for the analysis of food allergens are based on the specific union between the allergen (antigen) and an antibody (IgG), obtained specifically for the allergenic protein to be detected. These tests, called immunoassays, can be in rapid strip formats or ELISA tests.

The strip format tests are easy to perform by any operator, without the need for specific materials or equipment, and can identify a trace presence in a few minutes. Their use in the analysis of contact surfaces during food production or in controls for the processed product helps to ensure proper labelling. ELISA tests are more laborious to carry out, but quantify the amount of allergen in the sample, and so can be used in production line cleaning validation or in final product analysis.

Soy, egg or milk proteins, among others, are added to foods such as meat, bakery and pastry products to provide texture, flavour or the characteristic appearance of the product. High heat treatment prolonged for hours makes it difficult to detect traces of these allergens. Processing conditions vary according to the food or manufacturer, so it can be difficult to ensure that the test is detecting the allergen properly in the treated product. Therefore, the allergen test needs to be validated for a specific product and treatment, to ensure allergen control is effective. If not, you may have a control system in place, with its attendant investment in time and money, but you could be breaking the regulations or even triggering a food alert.

Recently, our Zeulab team helped a customer optimise its soy detection test in a meat product that was heated for several hours. Following the development of a specific additive added to the extraction buffer, the detection level of the assay was improved 10-fold.

At Zeulab, we can assess whether the test sensitivity is appropriate for the levels of allergens present in your product after heat treatment, and perform a personalised study to modify the sample preparation procedure to ensure greater extraction of the allergen.

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Some food chain analyses are performed with qualitative or binary response tests; that is, they provide a positive or negative (compliant or non-compliant) result for a sample, with respect to its limit of detection. Some well -known examples are microbial inhibition tests (Eclipse) or rapid tests (e.g. Proteon, Duplex BT Scan or IC).

Despite the fact that the interpretation of these tests is simple (+/-), sometimes the analyst may find situations that are more difficult to understand. This is the case with samples that contain the analyte at a concentration close to the test detection limit, when the result may be positive or negative if the test is repeated several times.

This is not a reflection on the performance of the test or the quality of the product, but rather due to a universal principle on which multiple events in nature are based (e.g. chemical reactions, freezing and thawing processes, the growth of organisms or the evolution of a pandemic or neuronal transmission). All of these processes, as well as the response of qualitative tests, follow a sigmoidal or “S –shaped” curve model. Understanding this curve helps us to easily understand the response of the tests.

The example below is the response of the Eclipse Farm 4G test for detecting antibiotic residues in milk. This is equally valid for rapid tests, with only the analyte dose on the x-axis having to be changed in the range of its detection limit.

Figure: Graph of the Eclipse test response (positive/negative) with increasing doses of amoxicillin in a milk sample being analysed. The ordinate (y) axis represents the % positive results obtained in the milk sample at a given amoxicillin concentration, represented along the abscissa (x) axis.

After looking at the graph, the following can be concluded:

• All samples with an amoxicillin concentration < 0.5 ppb will give a negative result in all replicates.
• All samples with an amoxicillin concentration > 4 ppb will give a positive result in all replicates.
• For samples in the narrow concentration range of 0.5-4 ppb, the response depends on the dose:
  • 15% of samples with 1 ppb of amoxicillin will test positive.
  • 50% of samples with 2 ppb of amoxicillin will test positive.
  • 95% of samples with 3 ppb of amoxicillin will test positive.

This S-shaped dose-response curve is common in all qualitative trials. Understanding this behaviour, it can be seen why:

• High analyte concentrations (in this example, of amoxicillin) will always give a very clear positive result.
• Very low analyte concentrations (including its absence, i.e. at zero concentration) will always give a very clear negative result.
• At concentrations around the limit of detection (in this example between 0.5 and 4 ppb of amoxicillin) either positive or negative results can be obtained, depending on the analyte dose or concentration.

Another important point is to know how a test detection limit is established. International reference organisations (e.g. AOAC, EU-CRL, IDF) have established that the detection limit is the lowest concentration of the analyte capable of being detected 95% of the time, i.e. with 95% of test repetitions.

Looking at the graph and considering the definition of a test detection limit, it can be seen that:

• The detection limit is designed to give a very high level of security or confidence (95% of the time, i.e. almost all the time). For example, after testing 20 samples at the test detection limit (3 ppb Amoxicillin in the Eclipse test), 19 of them will give a positive result; with 1 sample being negative.
• Analyte values close to the detection limit in its lower range may give either positive or negative results in proportions depending on the analyte dose. For example, samples with 2 ppb will give 50% positive and 50% negative results.

Therefore, from now on, if you analyse a sample several times and all duplicates do NOT give either a positive or negative result, there is a high probability the sample contains the analyte at a concentration at, or just below, the limit of detection.

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Approximately 1% of the world’s population suffers from coeliac disease,

This is why there are more and more gluten-free food products on the market to cater for people with coeliac disease.

If one of your products containing gluten shares a production line with another that does not, and you need to ensure the latter remains gluten-free, these 7 recommendations will be of great help:

1. IDENTIFY YOUR RISKS

1) Find the areas or points in your production process where there may be a risk of cross contamination from gluten; those areas or parts of the equipment where material containing gluten may get trapped are all risk points.

2) Design measures to prevent or reduce this possible cross contamination. The use of cleaning protocols which include specific detergents to remove allergenic proteins may be a good option.

3) Evaluate the effectiveness of these measures.

2. CHECK YOUR PRODUCT FORMULATION

Check that all the ingredients you use in the product are gluten-free.

Your ingredient supplier can provide you with this information, along with a certificate of analysis.

Remember that, following a change in supplier or a modification in the product formulation, you will have to verify that the ingredients are gluten-free.

For greater peace of mind, you can establish a periodic control of raw materials.

3. STORE YOUR INGREDIENTS CORRECTLY

If your company works with ingredients that contain gluten, these must be clearly identified and separated from the rest of the ingredients by a physical barrier that prevents cross-contamination with gluten. Colour marking or labelling areas designated for ingredients with gluten helps prevent human error.

4. PREVENT CROSS CONTAMINATION DURING PRODUCTION

We have already discussed how to store ingredients to prevent gluten cross contamination. But what about the production process itself? If you use the same production lines for both gluten-free products and those containing gluten, you should ensure that the cleaning has been effective and that no traces of gluten have remained. Quick strips are useful for quickly and easily determining the absence of gluten on surfaces, to prevent any risk of cross contamination.

5. CONTROL THE FLOW OF YOUR STAFF

You may have verified that your manufacturing process control measures are effective, but have you considered the product may become contaminated afterwards? In some cases, the movement of personnel may pose a risk to the product. A good example is the rest areas where personnel eat. Special care must be taken with personnel who come into contact with foods containing gluten as it may be retained by their clothing and contaminate a gluten-free product later.

6. LABEL YOUR PRODUCT IN ACCORDANCE WITH CURRENT LEGISLATION

When labelling a gluten-free product, current legislation indicates a maximum concentration for it of less than 20 ppm. Again, quick strips are a simple, fast and economic solution to determine the concentration of gluten in your product. Many quick strips can also determine concentrations below the legal limit; thus providing higher levels of safety for your product, as required by certain distribution surfaces.

7. BE CAREFUL WITH HYDROLYSED AND FERMENTED FOODS

If your product undergoes a hydrolysing or fermentation process during its production, such as gluten-free beer, you will know that these technological processes can affect the structure of gluten. As with gluten-free foods, to label these products as gluten-free, you must verify that its gluten content is less than 20 ppm.

ZEULAB offers you quick and simple analytical solutions to verify both the absence of gluten on surfaces and in foods, so you can justify the labelling of your products as gluten-free.