Chris Anderson: New technique helps detect toxins in food

[Tweed]

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/012605/bus_20050126004.shtml

"Surface plasmon resonance may not be a household word, but it's the latest weapon in the war on food toxins that can literally turn your stomach.

Marjorie Medina, a U.S. Department of Agriculture chemist based at Wyndmoor, Pa., perfected the technology to detect heat-resistant food toxins. The technique employs a biosensor capable of detecting chemical signs from toxin-producing bacteria.

Surface plasmon resonance uses light reflected from thin metal films. Toxins attach to the films and change the way light refracts. The changes in light intensity provide a measure of how much toxin, if any, is present in a food sample.

Bacteria produce toxins under stressful conditions, which include being too crowded, lacking food or fighting back against antibiotics. Usually, conventional heating and processing kill food-borne bacteria, but do not destroy their toxins."

It's Wednesday, so that means Chris Anderson's weekly farm update. I'm glad to see that corn growers have such high marks from the EPA.