Preparation of Ovomucoid-Free Egg White and Trial Production of Hypo-Allergenic Egg Dishes

Abstract

Ovomucoid (OM) is one of the major egg allergens. To optimize the conditions for OM removal, egg white separated from shelled eggs was heated for 0-15 min in water, varying the temperature and NaCl concentration. OM-free egg white was obtained by boiling homogenized egg white, diluted 10 times with 0.8% NaCl solution, for 15 min. Residual OM in the coagulated egg white was scarcely detected by SDS-PAGE and competitive ELISA using rabbit anti-OM IgG or human IgE from a patient allergenic to OM. Reconstitution of OM-free egg was performed by addition of egg yolk to the OM-free coagulated egg white after straining. Egg dishes, omelet, egg tofu, pudding and cookies, were then made with OM-free egg. Their hardness and sensory attributes were compared with control egg dishes. Pudding and cookies prepared from the OM-free egg were stiffer, whereas omelet and egg tofu were softer than the control foods. Sensory evaluation demonstrated that the OM-free egg dishes were similar to the control egg dishes, except for egg tofu.