| Bon Appetite?
Scottish salmon have joined the growing list of foods
that have been found to be contaminated with chemicals
used in farming or by industry. The levels of substances
in food such as pesticides, or more exotic chemicals
such as dioxins or PCBs, are generally very low. Eating
these foods will not result in immediate health effects,
but the long term effects are a cause for concern.
Studies of wildlife such as fish, birds, seals and
dolphins have shown that these substances can have
a range of effects including suppression of the immune
system, increased incidence of cancer and reduced fertility – and
even loss of males! These subtle effects could cause
the decline and loss of these species, and perhaps
humans too. Indeed, there is some evidence that this
might be the case – human sperm counts in the
more developed countries have shown a steady decline
since the latter part of the 20th century.
Testing the environment, the raw materials used in
food production and the food products on sale is essential
to protect the public’s health. The equipment
traditionally used to do the testing, although extremely
good, is very expensive, slow and lacks portability.
Researchers at University College Chester have been
developing alternative methods based on the use of
biotechnology. Professor Graham Bonwick and Professor
Chris Smith have used antibodies and other molecules
to develop rapid, simple yet sensitive screening tests
for food contaminants such as pesticides.
Prof Graham
Bonwick said ‘These tests are very cheap and
can be made very portable. Many people will have come
across them in the form of pregnancy test kits, although
the technology involved will not have been on their
minds! They can also be used in automated systems to
tackle the rapidly increasing amount of environmental
samples and foods that need to be tested. These tests
can be applied to other problems such as food adulteration
or detecting allergens and they are also usefull for
less developed countries that have difficulties protecting
their populations due to geographical or economic reasons’.
Profs Bonwick and Smith are currently collaborating
with government researchers in Indonesia to assist
them in establishing a screening programme for food
contaminants and the introduction of a totally organic
farming system by 2010.
For more information please contact:
Graham Bonwick at g.bonwick@chester.ac.uk |
