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Title: IMMUNOASSAYS FOR DETECTING INSECT CONTAMINATION OF FOOD PRODUCTS

Author
item KITTO, G BARRIE - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
item THOMAS, PEIWANG - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
item LEMBURG, JIM - UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS
item BRADER, ROBERT - AUSTIN, TX PRIVATE FIRM
item Burkholder, Wendell

Submitted to: American Chemical Society Abstracts
Publication Type: Proceedings
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/20/1995
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: This chapter presents a broad overview of the recent studies on immunoassays for detecting insect contamination of food products. Federal standards for regulating the amount of insect contamination in a wide variety of foodstuffs make it imperative that accurate and reliable analytical techniques be available for measuring such contamination. Present analytical methods such as the insect fragment count are time consuming, costly and show side variability. New analytical techniques for insect detection, based on immunological ELISA assays, have been developed which offer simplicity of use, low cost and excellent accuracy and reliability. One class of ELISA assay, based on the insect muscle protein myosin, is designed to detect a broad range of stored product insect pests in a wide range of grains, milled grain products, spices, nuts and dried fruits. This assay is available in several formats, ranging from highly quantitative microwell plate assays for on-site spot checking. Other insect immunoassays have been developed which are species specific for both beneficial and deleterious insects and also for detecting fruitflies, such as the medfly, in fruit. Work is in progress on immunoassays for detection of insect material in cooked processed foods and for rodent contamination of foodstuffs.