Philip Johnson

　　Department of Food Science and Technology University of Nebraska, Lincoln, USA

　　Proteomics is a tool of almost unparalleled versatility, and its extensive application to food safety research and practice seems inevitable. However, thus far the application of protein mass spectrometry to food has been limited mostly to food allergens, with limited research into use in food microbiology and authenticity. I will briefly discuss the potential of proteomics in food science, as well as the barriers which have hitherto prevented widespread adoption. I will then introduce major types of proteomics using my own research on the theme of food allergy. Targeted proteomics for the quantitative detection of proteins in food is perhaps the most common use of mass spectrometry in food science. I will describe the quantitative analysis of allergens in food for consumer protection, focusing on the detection of peanuts in spices, particularly cumin and garlic. Untargeted proteomics for the detection of unknown proteins is little used outside of research, but has tremendous potential. This will be introduced through work on the control of biopharmaceuticals based on foods, a field of growing interest as the lines between foods, nutraceuticals and biopharmaceuticals becomes less obvious. Lastly, I will introduce the analysis of intact proteins (“top-down” proteomics), an MS application currently limited to simple protein mixtures but with tremendous potential applicability for food analysis in the future. As an example I will discuss how MS can be used to gain insight into the structures of allergenic proteins and how this knowledge can be used to potentially predict allergenic traits.