An allergy to peanuts can cause hives, swelling of the face and throat, and ultimately block breathing. And this food allergy has been affecting a rising number of the population in recent decades, with 1 to 1.5% of the populations severely allergic to even the smallest traces of peanut.
So with the knowledge that some people have a very low peanut allergy threshold, (often times with their reaction to peanuts being wildly different from one peanut sufferer to the other), it is most worrisome that even right now, with all the advances in food manufacturing techniques, food manufacturers are often unsure if their food contains peanut trace.
At the moment that unsure approach to how much peanut may be contained in processed food is usually handled by simply placing a warning on the food label of the product, suggesting that the food may contain traces of peanut. However, in the United Kingdom, the Great British Food Standards Agency (FSA) have produced a test, that manufacturers can use to test for, and find, even the most minute traces of peanut in a processed products.
Dr Andrew Wadge, Director of Food Safety Policy for the FSA since 2003, said: "The Food Standards Agency has a wide program of research that aims to increase knowledge and understanding of food allergy and intolerance so that we can better protect the interests of consumers... Further research is needed to explore whether the test can be adapted to detect other common food allergens. However it is hoped that the work could lead to the development of a process that food businesses will be able to use in their production methods."
The food test works simply by detecting any peanut DNA in a food item or product, and was developed by scientist at the Central Science Laboratory. Calling the unique food test PCR, they tested it out on a number of food items found on everyday shelves of stores around the country, such as cakes and biscuits (which are often among some of the most risky items for peanut allergy sufferers to purchase).
Although further testing development and research is planed, before the PCR test will be used commercially, (allowing manufacturers and shoppers to know with relative surety whether or not their food products contain nut trace), this will all obviously prove as good news for all of us Peanut Allergy sufferers around the world.
