Edible powders with protein with standardized and reproducible allergenicity, and methods for preparing the same

Abstract

The invention concerns a process of preparing an allergenic, edible powder product suitable for introducing or reintroducing protein to a human subject allergic to the protein or at risk of becoming allergic to the protein, the process comprising: (a) providing a powder comprising protein and reducing sugar, wherein the powder comprises a milk protein comprising beta-lactoglobulin (BLG), preferably BLG-A; and (b) heating the powder of step (a) (homogeneously) within a heated, vibrating pipe, wherein the powder is heated at a temperature from 60 to 150° C., preferably from 70 to 120° C., more preferably from 70 to 100° C., wherein the relative humidity (RH) within the pipe is controlled below 80%, to obtain a powder wherein the protein has been glycated with the reducing sugar; (c) optionally adding any heat-sensitive components and/or bulking agents to the powder after step (b), (d) packaging the powder, to obtain a packaged amount of an allergenic, edible powder: (i) having a (predetermined) antigenicity reduced at least 20% compared to the protein reference; and/or (ii) wherein the glycated protein has a (predetermined) degree of glycation of at least 5% expressed as the percentage of lysine residues that are blocked by the reducing sugar on BLG, preferably BLG-A, wherein the powder is preferably characterized by at least (ii).

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.