Abstract
Simple and convenient allergen removal method from food preparation equipment is required. We carried out a model experiment using strongly acidic hypochlorous acid water in order to examine its capability of removing egg white as a typical allergen from food preparation equipment. Circular stainless plates with 3cm diameter were spread with 50µL of 10 times diluted egg white preparation, air-dried for 45 min. and then added with 1 mL of strongly acidic hypochlorous acid water for 20 sec. Subsequently, the plate surface was wiped off five times in the linear direction followed by four times in the circumferential direction using a sterilized gauze supplemented with 2 mL of strongly acidic hypochlorous acid water. It turned out that allergen was markedly removed when evaluated by immunochromatography with 25ng/mL of sensitivity. However, no significant reduction was observed by ELISA.
