A startup in Hong Kong is hoping to use light-up fish embryos to improve food safety. The company, Vitargent, engineered medaka and zebrafish embryos to turn fluorescent green or develop tumors in the presence of harmful substances called Estrogenic Endocrine Disruptors (EEDs). The technology can screen for more than 1,000 chemicals such as DDT and BPA at one time, and it can be used to test not only in food and drinks, but in cosmetics and skin care products as well. Traditional product safety tests usually only test five to 10 toxins at a time. Vitargent founder and executive director Eric Chen told the South China Morning Post that the fish have DNA very similar to that of humans, so they are susceptible to the same toxins. “While chemical-specific tests can be sensitive and precise, they are also very narrow and will not detect toxicants for which the analyst is not specifically looking for,” Chen told Tech in Asia. “Unanticipated toxicants usually go undetected because time, cost, and incomplete knowledge prevent chemical specific testing from being a practical screen for toxicity.” Vitargent is now cultivating transgenic medaka and zebrafish at Hong Kong Science Park’s laboratory and is also planning to establish fish farms in mainland China and Europe. The company hopes that it can help China get its food safety under control after numerous contamination scandals. “Businesses are so creative they will add anything you can imagine to our food and drink,” Chen told the Post.
The News Desk team at Food Safety News covers breaking developments, regulatory updates, recalls, and key topics shaping food safety today. These articles are produced collaboratively by our editorial staff.
Poor hygiene, unsafe food handling practices, and a reliance on untrained food handlers may be placing vulnerable patients at some psychiatric hospitals at risk of foodborne illnesses, according to researchers
Researchers have described how climate change could have an impact on Salmonella and antimicrobial resistance.
Scientists analyzed more than 236,700 Salmonella genomes from 139 countries or regions over the
The Gates Foundation has called for proposals to create estimates of the global burden of diarrheal diseases, with a focus on children younger than 5 living in low- and middle-
Mexican authorities have warned about an adulterated brand of tequila as investigations continue into several tainted alcohol deaths.
La Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (COFEPRIS) said the
The Food and Drug Administration uses import alerts to enforce U.S. food safety regulations for food from foreign countries. The agency updates and modifies the alerts as needed.
Recent
The Yakima Health District in Washington is investigating 10 confirmed and suspected cases of Salmonella infection among individuals who reported eating food at the Fourth of July event hosted by
Khong Guan Corporation is recalling specific lots of “Glutinous Rice Balls with Black Sesame Filling” because they may contain undeclared peanuts.
People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to
