Hen egg white lysozyme is a hidden allergen in Italian commmercial ciders

Hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) is an enzyme used in alcoholic fermentations for its ability to control the growth of Gram-positive bacteria and spoilage bacteria, without inhibiting yeast growth, and it allows reducing the use of sulphur dioxide. Nevertheless, considering the potential allergenicity of this protein, the presence of HEWL should be declared on the label of the final product. In this work, we analysed 18 commercial Italian ciders by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), and found traces of HEWL in 12 samples without label declaration. We used western blot and Enzyme-linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) to verify the immunological activity of HEWL, and to quantify its content in the ciders. Two out of 18 samples resulted positive both to Immunoblot and ELISA. Our results indicate the requirement of a more stringent control of the commercial ciders and the need of label declaration for ciders treated with such compounds.