Soybean is an outstanding source of essential nutrients when used for food.  100g soybean can provide 36% Daily Values (DV) of protein, 37% DV dietary fiber, 121% DV iron, 120% DV manganese, 101% DV phosphorus and 70-94% DV of riboflavin (B2), thiamine (B1), and folate (B9).   Furthermore, soy protein products can be good substitutes for animal products because, unlike some other beans, soy offers a 'complete' protein profile, according to FDA.  Therefore, soybean has not only been an ideal source of vegan diet, but also been widely used in processed foods. 

However soybean is also among the top eight food allergens, which are the “major food allergens” in the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) of 2004.  Scientific research has found the soybean allergenic effect is attributed to the globulin fraction of soybean proteins that comprise about 85% of total protein.  Based on the scientific evidences, OECD published guidelines on a list of potential soybean allergens.   To estimate the soybean and other food allergen thresholds, US FDA Threshold working group summarized the clinical data and found the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of soy was 88-522 mg.   Therefore, in order to successfully identify and quantify the soybean allergens, sensitive and reliable methods are in critical need.  

Among the commercially available approaches, liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS–MS) is a very promising method for allergen detection.  The superior specificity and sensitivity are rooted from the combined modern development on ultra performance liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry technologies.  The capability of simultaneous detection of multiple or all the allergens unlocked the high-throughput potential, and distinguished the method from the traditional approaches.   Our new LC–MS–MS method using Dow AgroScience Plextein™ technology quantifies the following :

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