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Allergens | Mycotoxins | Molecular biology | Polymerase Chain Reaction | ELISA
Allergens | Mycotoxins | Molecular biology | Polymerase Chain Reaction | ELISA
Allergen Testing Available:
Allergen Testing Available:
ELISA-based allergen testing for food and food ingredients
ELISA-based allergen testing of swabs to support cleaning validation trials for food processing facilities and/or routine environmental monitoring
ELISA-based mycotoxin testing
PCR-based testing
New Zealand food regulations require that food products conform to allergen labelling rules.
ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay) is a widely-used method for allergen and mycotoxin testing. Capable of detection and quantification, it can be used to analyse food samples and production environments to ensure that your food products will be clean and contaminant-free.
Our BioTek 800 TS Absorbance Reader is a high-quality ELISA microplate reader that is compatible with a broad range of commercial ELISA-based allergenic kits.
We can also offer Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing. Unlike ELISA-based methods, PCR measures DNA rather than the allergen directly, thus it is not a direct measure for the presence of the allergen. The advantage it offers is the potential to increase specificity, whereas ELISA testing can experience high cross-reactivity.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Frequently Asked Questions:
Which allergens do I need to declare?
Which allergens do I need to declare?
At the time of writing the food allergens required to be declared in food products sold in New Zealand were as follows:
Egg
Peanuts
Milk (includes milk from cows, deer, goats, sheep, buffalo)
Soy
Sesame
Lupin
Gluten (triticale and spelt must be declared as wheat and gluten)
Wheat (triticale and spelt must be declared as wheat and gluten)
Fish
Crustacean
Molluscs
Added sulphites (at a level of 10 mg/kg or more)
Tree nuts (almonds, brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamias, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, and walnuts).
Reference: https://www.mpi.govt.nz/food-business/labelling-composition-food-drinks/allergen-declarations-warnings-and-advisory-statements-on-food-labels (accessed 02/02/2026)
How well does ELISA-based allergen testing perform?
How well does ELISA-based allergen testing perform?
Lower limits of quantification are often in the 1 - 10ppm range, but can vary based on the allergen, commercial brand of kit, and type of sample.
ELISA testing is usually suitable for a wide range of food types and swabs, although performance can vary.
What are some of the limitations of ELISA?
What are some of the limitations of ELISA?
Performance may differ between different commercial ELISA kits for the same allergen. Batch-to-batch variation and repeatability variation for the same commercial kits has also been observed.
The level of product processing may influence test sensitivity and lead to false negative results. This is because the processing can modify the target protein, decreasing the antibody's ability to recognise and bind to it.
There is also a potential for false-positive results due to cross-reactivity. This can occur what the ELISA antibodies recognise proteins that are similar to the allergen but are nevertheless not the target.
Resources & additional information
Resources & additional information
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EleLfSxv96c
https://www.food.gov.uk/research/food-hypersensitivity/review-of-allergen-analytical-testing-methodologies-measurement-parameters-and-sensitivity-of-methods?print=1
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