Assessment of crustacean allergen detection methods: cross reactivity with edible insect samples

Increased interest in consumption of insects in recent years has led to an increased focus on associated food safety concerns, and allergy is one of the most relevant. In the United States, crustacean shellfish are regulated as a major allergenic food group per the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act. Insects and crustacean shellfish are both arthropods, and clinical cross-reactivity between the two groups has been demonstrated. The goal of this work was to establish whether that clinical cross-reactivity translates into analytical cross-reactivity with detection assays targeting crustacean shellfish allergens. Edible insect samples were analyzed using four different crustacean allergen detection methods: Multi-Analyte Profiling Food Allergen Detection Assay (xMAP FADA), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), western blot, and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Results indicate that the immunoassay-based xMAP FADA, ELISA, and western blot were susceptible to cross-reactivity, while the DNA-based PCR methods had minimal reactivity with insect samples. These results confirm that edible insects show analytical cross-reactivity with the immunoassays which may result in false positive detection of crustacean allergens in insect samples. Confirmation using DNA-based PCR, which shows little to no cross-reactivity, clarifies ambiguous results.

Automated summary

Increased interest in consumption of insects has raised concerns about food safety, particularly regarding allergies. This study aimed to investigate if clinical cross-reactivity between crustacean shellfish and insects translates into analytical cross-reactivity with allergen detection assays. The results showed that immunoassay-based methods were prone to cross-reactivity, leading to potential false positive detection of crustacean allergens in insect samples. However, DNA-based PCR methods had minimal reactivity with insects, providing clearer results.