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Buckwheat is cultivated for its grain-like seeds and can be used as whole or ground to flour. Despite its name, it is not closely related to wheat and does not contain gluten. However, the fraction of proteins in buckwheat is high, and especially in the Asian-Pacific area, this plant represents one of the most important food allergens. Already very low amounts of buckwheat can cause allergic reactions, which may lead to anaphylactic shock in severe cases. Because of this, buckwheat allergic persons must strictly avoid the consumption of buckwheat or buckwheat containing food.
Cross-contamination, mostly in consequence of the production process, is often noticed. The application of different grains in the same grain mill is a typical example. This explains why the existence of buckwheat residues in foods cannot be excluded in many cases. For this reason, sensitive detection systems for buckwheat residues in foodstuffs are required.
The SENSISpec ELISA Buckwheat kit represents a highly sensitive detection system and is particularly capable of the quantification of buckwheat residues in grain flours, cookies, pasta and meat.