Adsorption of tropomyosin from pink shrimp (Pandalus eous) on stainless steel surface

Cross contamination of allergen to other food products is a serious problem in the food plant where many products shared the same equipment or processing lines. In order to decide a suitable cleaning method, understanding on adsorption of allergen onto the food-contact surface is required. In this study, the adsorption behavior of tropomyosin, a major allergen in shrimp, on stainless steel surface was investigated using shrimp extract as a sample food material. It was found that tropomyosin was adsorbed favorably on stainless steel surface than other proteins in the shrimp extract. Furthermore, the adsorption of proteins in the shrimp extract, including tropomyosin, was hardly removed by water.