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Limarr Enterprise

An intermediary between global manufacturers of laboratory equipment, measuring and analytical equipment, and entities that need this equipment directly – laboratories, manufacturing companies, wholesale and retail buyers.

Food safety

Food safety

Food safety is an object of sanitary and hygienic control. There are a number of sanitary rules and regulations that control the absence of toxic, carcinogenic, teratogenic, mutagenic or other adverse effects of products on the human body. Safety is guaranteed by the establishment and observance of the regulated level of chemical and biological pollutants, as well as natural toxic substances that pose a health hazard.

Generally, foodborne diseases are infectious diseases or intoxications caused by chemicals, bacteria or viruses that get into the body through contaminated water or food.

Food contaminants:

Antibiotics

Antibiotics found in food can come from:

  • Residues of veterinary drugs that were used in the treatment;
  • Natural antibiotics inherent in the raw material;
  • Antibiotics, which were formed during the food manufacture;
  • Antibiotics used as a preservative.

The control of antibiotic residues is of great hygienic importance. When eating food containing antibiotics, the intestinal microflora changes, resulting in the vitamin synthesis disturbance and the growth of pathogenic microbes in the intestines and the occurrence of allergic diseases.

Hormones

Hormonal drugs are used in animal husbandry and veterinary medicine as growth stimulants for animals, to accelerate puberty, multiple pregnancy, and improve feed digestibility. The most common use of synthetic hormones, in view of their low price, which, unlike natural analogues, are more stable, poorly metabolized and accumulate in the animals’ bodies in large quantities and, as a result, migrate into food. When using such products, it causes an imbalance in metabolism, physiological functions of the whole organism (excess or lack of weight, skin metabolism imbalance; problems with the liver, intestines and stomach; frequent headaches, nausea, development of endocrine diseases, CNS disorders, etc.).

Mycotoxins

Mycotoxins are toxic substances of natural origin produced by certain types of mold fungi. Molds parasitize many types of food (cereals, dried fruits, nuts and spices). Mold can appear both before and after harvesting, during storage, subject to favorable temperature and humidity. Most mycotoxins are chemically stable and are not destroyed by heat treatment. Mycotoxins can get into the body both through the consumption of contaminated food and indirectly through the consumption of food derived from animals fed with contaminated feed, particularly milk.

The greatest threat to human and animal health is aflatoxins, ochratoxins, patulin, zearalenone and others. Mycotoxins have a carcinogenic, mutagenic effect, suppress the body’s immunity, affect the kidneys, liver, nervous and circulatory systems, the gastrointestinal tract, cause blood diseases, septic tonsillitis, dermatitis, convulsions, acute pain, a state of severe intoxication, disrupt hormonal balance and reproductive functions.

Allergens

Basically, food allergens are proteins that the immune system of allergic people mistakenly think is harmful. The so-called “group of eight” food allergens include: cow’s milk, chicken egg, peanuts, nuts, fish, seafood, wheat, soy. Usually food allergies are IgE-mediated, which means that the body produces large amounts of antibodies that specifically target the proteins in certain foods. When these antibodies bind to an allergen, they cause allergic reactions that range from mild symptoms to life-threatening anaphylactic shock. Non-IgE-mediated immune responses with a delayed onset after ingestion are also sometimes possible.

Since food allergens are a constant risk for allergy sufferers, it is extremely important for food manufacturers to conduct routine tests for potential allergen contamination of their products.

Microorganisms

Consumption of low-quality products can cause food poisoning of microbial or non-microbial origin. Poisoning caused by living microbes (salmonella, E. coli, opportunistic pathogens) that get into the body with food are called foodborne infections. With these diseases, the formation of a toxin occurs in the body.

Intoxication by poisons accumulated in food during bacteria life processes is called bacterial toxicosis (botulism and staphylococcal poisoning). The toxic effect on the body lies in the ability of toxic substances to cause poisoning, which is expressed in various clinical and anatomical effects.

Limarr offers a wide range of kits for the analysis of food products, in particular:

  • ELISA kits, ELISA tests;
  • Kits for PCR analysis;
  • LFIA test strips for allergens;
  • Media;
  • Kits for enzymic analysis.

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