Proteomic Profiling of Processing-Induced Modifications of Food Proteins

Modern mass spectrometry methods provide a means of profiling complex mixtures of proteins and, more recently, to quantify individual components. Such proteomic methods are now being used in food analysis and include applications such as identification and characterization of food allergens and monitoring processing-induced changes in foods. This project will provide opportunities to develop a bioinformatic pipeline to support annotation of unusual food sources, such as foods for which allergen labelling is mandatory under EU legislation. It will define how food processing procedures can modify protein components in food ingredients and how this in turn affects analytical specificity and sensitivity. The methods will also be widely applicable to issues such as food authenticity and monitoring processing history including time-temperature combinations and effectiveness of hydrolytic processes. Processing-induced effects on proteomic profiles will, potentially, be linked to the effect on the biological activity of food proteins; for allergies this could take the form of assessing the impact on IgE reactivity.