There is little information available on the antigenicity of allergens in foods subjected to gamma irradiation and
thermal processes. The objective of the study was to evaluate the effects of gamma irradiation and thermal processing
on the recovery of milk and egg allergens in foods prepared using irradiated wheat flour incurred with
these allergens. Bread, boiled pasta and extruded cereal were selected as food matrices for the study.
Allergen detection was performed using Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) and commercially available enzyme
linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kits. Protein structure was characterized using differential scanning calorimetry
(DSC), Fourier-transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy. The
ELISA kits performed well in detecting allergens in the unprocessed flours with recoveries ranging from
63–120%. The results for dough and uncooked pasta were similar to those of unprocessed flours. Recoveries for
boiled pasta were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) reduced. The lowest allergen recoveries were obtained in bread
samples. Allergen recoveries in gamma irradiated samples depended on the irradiation dose, the type of ELISA
kit used, the tested matrix, and the processing method. FTIR and CD results showed that among the allergens
casein was the most thermostable followed by ovomucoid. β-Lg and ovalbumin showed thermal sensitivity. In
conclusion, gamma irradiation may affect the antigenicity of allergenic food residues at low levels depending
on the food matrices and the processing methods.