Histochemical detection of pea protein

The meat industry uses vegetable proteins as meat substitutes to reduce the price of its products. Some vegetable proteins, however, have allergenic effects. Efforts are therefore being made to replace such allergenic proteins with other vegetable proteins that are not classified as allergens by the legislation. The most commonly used include pea protein, though this may also cause allergic reactions. Pea protein can be detected by various methods, one of which is microscopy. Detection using this method is based on the identification of structures characteristic of peas. We examined samples of pea flour and protein and model samples of poultry meat with their addition. Samples were processed by microscopic methods, and PAS Calleja staining was chosen as the most suitable. In all samples the addition was detected. To obtain more accurate results, it is necessary to develop and standardize an immunohistochemical staining protocol in order to distinguish between pea and soya proteins, because the particles of these proteins are very similar.