Synthetic food colours in saffron solutions, saffron rice and saffron chicken from restaurants in Tehran, Iran.

Saffron solutions, saffron rice and saffron chicken samples were considered for synthetic colours as additives, which are forbidden according to Iranian national standards. Samples were taken from restaurants of three locations and analysed by high-performance liquid chromatography. Of the total 573 samples, 52% were positive for at least one colour. The most prevalent colours were Tartrazine, Quinoline Yellow and Sunset Yellow, with 44%, 9.1% and 8.4% of the samples testing positive for these colours, respectively. Carmoisine and Ponceau were both detected only in 0.5% of the positive samples and found only in saffron solution. In conclusion, synthetic food colours, especially Tartrazine should be regarded as a potential risk in saffron and its related food. Therefore, new attempts for food safety and quality should be undertaken to eliminate the use of these colours in restaurants.

A comparison of the contrast stains, Chicago blue, chlorazole black, and Parker ink, for the rapid diagnosis of skin and nail infections.

BACKGROUND: The cheapest, most rapid method for the diagnosis of mycotic skin and nail infections is direct examination of samples using a KOH preparation. The standard KOH wet mount lacks a color contrast. Various contrast dyes are available. Parker ink is one which has been extensively used, however in recent times the stain no longer provides a suitable color contrast. Two other dyes that are available are Chicago blue and chlorazole black. METHODS: 100 samples of skin or nails were prospectively examined using Chicago blue, chlorazole black, and Parker ink-KOH stains. The samples were also cultured, with culture being the diagnostic gold standard. RESULTS: The sensitivities and specificities of the Chicago blue, chlorazole black and Parker ink stains were 78% & 96%; 63% & 97%; and 48% and 96%, respectively. CONCLUSION: The Chicago blue-KOH stain provides a good color contrast and is a suitable replacement for the Parker ink-KOH stain. It is suitable for use in the dermatologist's office or in the laboratory.

Use of retailer fidelity card schemes in the assessment of food additive intake: Sunset Yellow a case study.

The feasibility of using a retailer fidelity card scheme to estimate food additive intake was investigated using the Swiss retailer MIGROS's Cumulus Card and the example of the food colour Sunset Yellow (E 110). Information held within the card scheme was used to identify a sample of households purchasing foods containing Sunset Yellow over a 15 day period. A sample of 1204 households was selected for interview, of which 830 households were retained in the study following interview. Interviews were conducted to establish household structure, patterns of consumption by different individuals within the household, and the proportion of foods containing Sunset Yellow habitually purchased at the retailer and/or consumed outside the home. Information provided by the retailer on levels of Sunset Yellow in the foods was combined with the information obtained at interview to calculate the per-capita intake of Sunset Yellow by members of participating households. More than 99% of consumers (n = 1902) of foods containing Sunset Yellow were estimated to consume less than 1 mg Sunset Yellow kg(-1) body weight day(-1). The method proved to be a simple and resource-efficient approach to estimate food additive intake on the basis of actual consumer behaviour and thus reports results more closely related to the actual consumption of foods by individuals.

Chitosan beads as barriers to the transport of azo dye in soil column.

The development of chitosan-based materials as useful adsorbent polymeric matrices is an expanding field in the area of adsorption science. Although chitosan has been successfully used for the removal of dyes from aqueous solutions, no consideration is given to the removal of dyes from contaminated soils. Therefore this study focuses on the potential use of chitosan as an in situ remediation technology. The chitosan beads were used as barriers to the transport of a reactive dye (Reactive Black 5, RB5) in soil column experiments. Batch sorption experiments, kinetic and equilibrium, were performed to estimate the sorption behavior of both chitosan and soil. The chitosan beads were prepared in accordance with published literature and a synthetic soil was prepared by mixing quantities of sand, silt and clay. The synthetic soil was classified according to British Standards. Calcium chloride was used as tracer to define transport rates and other physical experimental parameters. Dye transport reaction parameters were determined by fitting dye breakthrough curves (BTCs) to the HYDRUS-1D version 4.xx software. Fourier Transform-Infra Red (FT-IR) spectroscopy was used to reveal the sorption mechanism. The study showed that chitosan exhibited a high sorption capacity (S(max)=238 mg/g) and pseudo-first sorption rate (k(1)=1.02 h(-1)) coupled with low swelling and increased retardation for the azo dye tested. Thus it has potential as a Permeable Reactive Barrier (PRB) for containment and remediation of contaminated sites.

Evaluation of calcium alginate for skin graft donor sites.

Choosing the most appropriate wound dressing is of importance in optimizing healing and minimizing pain. Recent reports have suggested an improvement in wound healing with calcium alginate. To clinically evaluate this new dressing, 12 paired wounds were covered with either calcium alginate or scarlet red in seven patients with burns undergoing skin grafting. The rate of reepithelialization was assessed by optical planimetry for the calcium alginate and by time for sloughing of the scarlet red. This comparison failed to demonstrate objectively any difference in the rate of wound healing between these dressings; however, calcium alginate did significantly reduce the pain severity and was favored by the nursing personnel because of its ease of care. Thus calcium alginate does appear to have clinical advantages as a dressing for skin graft donor sites.