Performance of a targeted LC-MS/MS method for the quantification of peanut, egg, and milk in various allergen-fortified or incurred foods

Despite the availability of numerous analytical methods for the quantification of food allergens, the global food allergen research community has recognized that many challenges in the field remain unresolved. Recently, guidelines have been released by multiple entities to align best practices within the field, particularly for method validation. With these recommendations in mind, a previously published liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) method for the detection and quantification of peanut, egg, and milk was evaluated in four food matrices with varied chemical complexity and sample processing: fortified oat flour, fortified frozen dessert, incurred sugar cookie, and incurred gluten-free (GF) cupcake. Test materials were prepared at concentrations of 10, 15, 25, and 100 mg food allergen/kg matrix; then, previously established criteria were used to determine if the food allergen was detectable and/or quantifiable within each sample. Percent recovery for each quantifiable food allergen was determined per matrix and generally met recommended method performance requirements. The suitability of the method was also compared to target limits of quantification (LOQ) determined for each matrix using the ad hoc Joint FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on Risk Assessment of Food Allergens reference doses combined with the Reference Amounts Customarily Consumed (RACC). The method was able to quantify at the target LOQs for (1) peanut in oat flour, frozen dessert, and GF cupcake, (2) egg in oat flour and frozen dessert, and (3) milk in frozen dessert, GF cupcake, and cookie, demonstrating method performance at current reference doses.