DNA-based method detects trace amounts of peanut in foods

For people with severe peanut allergies, eating even miniscule amounts of the legume can trigger anaphylaxis —- a life-threatening condition characterized by dizziness, breathing difficulties and, sometimes, loss of consciousness. Now, researchers have developed a sensitive new test to detect trace amounts of peanuts in foods using the peanuts’ DNA. They report their results in ACS’ Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.