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【技术产业】＂浸渍＂检查法可快速检出变质食
Public release date: 25-Mar-2007
'Dipstick' test could reduce risk of food poisoning by rapidly detecting spoilage
CHICAGO, March 25 ?Chemists at the University of South Carolina are developing a consumer test kit that people can use to quickly and accurately determine if food products are spoiled or safe to eat.
Described today at the 233rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the new diagnostic test, which researchers describe as a disposable 揹ipstick,?is capable of rapidly (less than 5 minutes) detecting the presence of chemicals formed by disease-causing bacteria. In preliminary studies, the test had a 90 percent accuracy rate, the researchers say. The test could help avoid illnesses and even deaths caused by food poisoning, which afflicts several million people each year in the United States alone.
The dipstick test is still in development but could be on store shelves in two to three years, says study leader John J. Lavigne, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the school抯 Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, located in Columbia, S.C.
揟here抯 no other test like this targeting the consumer market right now that I am aware of,?says Lavigne. 揑t has the potential to change the way individual diners think about the quality of their food and greatly impact public health.?
Lavigne envisions that consumers will be able to carry the dipsticks with them and use them anywhere, including homes and restaurants.
The new test relies on the detection of a class of chemicals called nonvolatile biogenic amines. These compounds are generated during the bacterial decay of food proteins and are an indirect measurement of the extent of food spoilage. Lavigne and his associates developed special polymers that change color in the presence of these biogenic amines. In lab studies, they tested these polymer biosensors against a variety of fish samples, including fresh salmon, fresh tuna and canned tuna.
The polymers change color in the presence of increasing levels of these biogenic amines to indicate degrees of food spoilage. Specifically, the polymers changed from dark purple to yellow in the presence of badly spoiled fish, while the change was from dark purple to a reddish hue in the presence of mildly spoiled fish, he says. Depending on the degree of freshness identified, the consumer could then decide whether to eat the food or avoid it. To the consumer, the yellow color would clearly be an indication to avoid the fish, Lavigne says. The test is currently designed to be qualitative only and will not identify the specific pathogen present, he notes.
Although fish were used in this study, a similar approach can be applied to other foods, including other meats as well as fruits and vegetables, according to Lavigne. Although many fruits and vegetables contain lower protein levels than meats, preliminary studies also indicate the dipsticks are capable of detecting even small amounts of protein decay caused by bacterial activity, he says. More detailed tests on these other food types are planned.
Other than tell-tale clues of food spoilage such as foul smells and the appearance of mold, spoilage sometimes can be difficult to detect by the average consumer. Current scientific methods used to identify foodborne pathogens often require expensive equipment, are time consuming (ranging from hours to days) and involve complicated analyses carried out by trained professionals.
The researchers are working to improve the speed, sensitivity and accuracy of the new test. But Lavigne notes that no 慺reshness?test will substitute for the importance of proper food safety, including optimal storage, cleaning and cooking. Funding for the study was provided by the University of South Carolina and Research Corporation, a private foundation that advances scientific research. 本人已认领该文编译，48小时后若未提交译文，请其他战友自由认领 'Dipstick' test could reduce risk of food poisoning by rapidly detecting spoilage
用“试纸条”快速检测食物变质情况，可降低食物中毒危险
CHICAGO, March 25 ?Chemists at the University of South Carolina are developing a consumer test kit that people can use to quickly and accurately determine if food products are spoiled or safe to eat.
芝加哥，3月25日消息—南卡罗莱那大学的化学家们正在开发一种消费者用的检测盒，人们可使用其快速准确地确定食物是否已经变质，食用是否安全。
Described today at the 233rd national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the new diagnostic test, which researchers describe as a disposable 揹ipstick,?is capable of rapidly (less than 5 minutes) detecting the presence of chemicals formed by disease-causing bacteria.
研究人员们在今天的美国化学会第233次全国会议上描述了这种新的诊断测试方法，他们说这是一种一次性的试纸条，能迅速（在5分钟之内）检测出是否有致病菌产生的化学物质存在。
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作者:admin@医学,生命科学 2011-01-05 05:14
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