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Food allergy presents a problem for many parts of society, including sensitive subjects, schools, health authorities, and the food industry. Once food allergy is diagnosed, dietary avoidance is the principle method of management. Because trace levels of peanuts can elicit an adverse to fatal reaction, unintentional exposure to the offending allergens may have devastating consequences to sensitive individuals. However, determination of trace amounts of unintentional peanut contamination in our food supply is very difficult. Recently, we developed polyclonal antibodies specific to peanut proteins that do not cross-react with 22 legumes, tree nuts, or other common snack ingredients. An antiserum containing the polyclonal antibodies was used to develop a sensitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for determination of peanut proteins in snack foods. This study reports the first successful ELISA test to detect trace amounts of peanut allergens in a variety of foods. The concentration of peanut protein that inhibited 50% of antibody–antigen binding (IC50) was 12 ng/mL, the linear range was 1–63 ng/mL, and the detection limit was 400 ng/g (ppb) for the various foods tested. Recoveries ranged from 68 to 90%, with coefficients of variation of 2–22%, depending on the commodity. Using this new procedure, allergy-related complaint samples from various food groups were analyzed, and undeclared peanut proteins were identified in some products.

A sensitive and simple enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is described for the quantification of difenzoquat (DFQ) in foods using polyclonal antibodies. Two hapten analogues of DFQ with five-carbon spacer arms attached to one of the aromatic rings were synthesized. The resulting antiserum was specific to DFQ. The minimum detection limit was 0.8 ng/mL for beer and 16 ng/g for cereals with an IC50 (50% inhibition of binding) of 0.28 ng/mL in this assay. The recoveries of DFQ spiked at three levels into beer, cereal, and bread ranged from 72% to 101%. The mean intra-assay and inter-assay coefficients of variation in this procedure were 4.6% and 6.9% for five commodities spiked at 100 ng/g or ng/mL DFQ, respectively. The ELISA procedure was applied to a limited survey of 13 beers and 12 breads, but no detectable DFQ residue was found. Keywords: Difenzoquat; herbicide; ELISA; immunoassay; beer; cereal; food

An interest in the pharmacokinetics of styrene monomer in the rat, arising from the presence of the monomer in the industrial work place and in foods, necessitated an investigation of the, dose dependency of the kinetics of styrene monomer when administered by the iv route. A rapid distribution of the monomer to the major organs was observed, and all of the rate coefficients describing the rates of distribution and elimination decreased with increasing dose. No change in the apparent volume of distribution with dose was observed. Some evidence for the involvement of saturabie metabolic pathways was obtained.

Methods of sampling urban runoff and its impacts on receiving waters are reviewed and classified into three types. The field designs which yield data on mass emissions are generally most useful for evaluating alternatives to control urban nonpoint pollution. Recent field sampling of urban runoff in the Detroit, Mich. area (Southeast Michigan) permits better characterization of urban runoff quality, distribution of sizes of solids in runoff, and correlations of suspended solids with other constituents in runoff. It is concluded that region-specific runoff data are useful to planners and engineers engaged in analysis of alternative control strategies. Data from Southeast Michigan indicate that certain aspects of the urban nonpoint problem are not amenable to some source controls, such as street sweeping, but suggest that hydrologic modifications, such as detention and increased infiltration, may be more effective.