Food allergy involves adverse reaction of immunity system to determined foods (mostly proteins). Food allergies represent an important health problem affecting mainly children (6-8%). Symptoms can vary form mild (hives) to severe reactions such as anaphylaxis. The amount of food allergen that can trigger an allergic reaction is different in each patient and trace of allergens (little microgram) can be enough to induce a reaction. Hence, rigorous information about foods that contain allergens is very important to allow allergic people manage their diet.

The presence of marine toxins in shellfish products could lead to fatal food poisoning. Monitoring programs to control levels of toxins establish monthly or even weekly sampling in production areas. Opening or closure of harvest areas would depend upon  the results obtained. Post-harvest and end product testing is also carried out in some countries. Currently, paralytic (saxitoxins), ammesic  (domoic acid) and lipophilic toxins (okadaic acid and derivatives, yessotoxins, pectenotoxins and azaspirazids) are legislated.

A recent study at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center has evaluated the application of screening assays for determination of DST
(diarrhetic shellish toxins) in shellfish. A lateral flow test, ELISA and PP2A tests were evaluated and compared with the standard regulatory LC-MS/MS (Eberhart et al, Marine Drugs, 2013).

Last August 25th ZEULAB attended the AOAC 127th annual meeting in Chicago Illinois. ZEULAB has been attending at this meeting as an exhibitor for the last 3 years, in which there are visitors from all over the world.
AOAC offers scientific sessions, roundtables, workshops, and poster presentations to meet a variety of analytical needs. Also brings science-based research from the top scientists in the world, technical information about changes and advances in methodology and access to techniques and applications.

As in previous editions in Baiona (Spain) Zeulab attended to the Marine and Freshwater Toxins Analysis: Fourth Joint Symposium and AOAC Task Force Meeting, last May 5-9, 2013.

Phytoplankton carry out around half of all photosynthesis on Earth. They lower CO2 concentrations in the oceans, add oxygen to our atmosphere, and are the basis of most ocean and many freshwater food chains. When they die, phytoplanktons also sequester carbon in the deep ocean as they sink towards the ocean floor. The organisms’ close relationship with CO2 and the carbon cycle means that climate change scientists need to understand how global warming will alter phytoplankton populations. Additionally, ecologists wish to understand phytoplankton to predict the oceans’ future health.

Just published the collaborative study on OkaTest, colorimetric phophatase inhibition assay for OA-toxins. Smienk et al, 2013, J. AOAC International. 96, 1, 77-85.

Humans have been eating cheese for 9.000 years. A group of researchers from UK, USA and Poland has proved that people ate cheese back in 7.000 B.C. Several pieces of pottery with holes similar to actual cheese strainers have been found in multiple sites from Anatolia, Europe and Africa. Scientists have found a great amount of milk fats inside strainers holes. So these specialized pottery vessels were used to milk processing without doubt. According to these evidences, farmers from Neolithic period did an early use of milk, separating fat-rich milk cruds from lactose-containing whey.