A semi-quantitative test for the detection of common wheat in pasta products
Intended Use:
The BIOKITS PQC Test Kit is a sensitive and specific semi-quantitative test for the detection of common wheat adulteration in pasta products, noodles etc.
Triticum durum is a variety of ‘hard’ wheat, the protein composition of which makes it ideally suited for the manufacture of pasta as the texture and flavour of the product is retained when cooked. Common wheat (T. aestivum) is a soft wheat variety that is less suitable for pasta manufacture since the resultant food can be sticky and unpalatable. Sometimes, the price differential between durum and common wheat varieties means economic advantage can be gained by adulterating durum wheat with common varieties. More frequently, significant levels of adventitious contamination (more than 2-3% of common wheat in durum wheat) arise because of contamination e.g. of seed stock, in the field pre-harvest, in storage or when processing post-harvest.
Recent changes in the temperature at which pasta is dried (increasing from ~60°C to >100°C) have meant that some common wheat detection methods are no longer suitable. The BIOKITS P.Q.C. Test Kit detects gliadin from the D-genome of common wheat, which is not found in durum wheat.
Suitable for Testing: a wide range of pasta products for common wheat at levels of >2-3%.
Results are not affected by egg, spinach, tomato, squid ink or original drying temperature of the pasta sample.
The BIOKITS Pasta Quality Control Test Kit offers:
| • Semi-quantitative format Detects |
>2-3% common wheat adulteration |
| • Sensitive and specific |
Monoclonal anti-gliadin antibody |
| • BioKits Validated method |
Reliable results aid analytical decisions |
| • Ease of use |
Standards provided |
| • Versatility |
Applicable to wide range of pasta products |
Principle of the Assay:
The kit utilises a peroxidase enzyme-labelled monoclonal antibody to a common wheat gliadin which binds to gliadin from the pasta sample previously applied to plastic microwells The presence of common wheat gliadin is then detected by the addition of TMB substrate.
Product Details:
| Limits of Quantitation |
<3 – 15% adulteration with common wheat |
| Cross-reactivity |
Not affected by presence of egg, spinach, tomato, squid ink |
| Samples tested per kit |
Up to 40 in duplicate |
| Hands-on time |
Preparation/extraction – five samples, 1 hour |
| Kit Contents |
Full reagent set to perform semi-quantitative analysis, including 96-well microwell plate with single strip format of 12 x 8 wells; Pasta Standards; Positive Control; product insert & worksheet. |
| Additional equipment |
Micro-pipettes (50-100Hl), wash bottle & reader (450nm) |
| Reagent Stability |
Several weeks or months after opening |
| Shelf-life |
Up to 12 months from manufacture |
| Storage |
2 - 8°C |
Tepnel BioSystems also has a wide range of kits available for the detection of Food Allergens, Genetically Modified Ingredients, Animal Speciation and Mycotoxins.
