EVALUATION OF INTOLERANCE TO FOOD PRESERVATIVES BY NON-INVASIVE BIOPHYSICAL TECHNOLOGIES

Food preservation represents one of the main interests of food science, and various synthetic and natural compounds are available nowadays for food industry. A high concern exists among consumers towards the toxicity of food additives and preservatives, in particular, however the role that some of these compounds can have in causing food intolerance to consumers should be underlined. In this work we evaluated the feasibility of using an unconventional diagnostic procedure based on bioelectrical skin responses referred to as Electro-Acupuncture Diagnostics according to Voll (EAV) based on the variations of conductivity or cutaneous electric potential in correspondance with the points of acupuncture meridians and due to the interaction between the electromagnetic waves, spontaneously emitted by certain substances, and the human organism. This technique could provide a fast, easy, non invasive and sensitive evaluation of the irritating potential of food preservatives. Four of the most commonly used preservatives in food industry (EDTA, lactoferrine, lisozyme and nisin) were assessed on 20 healthy volunteers. This preliminar study pointed out that the tested preservatives can cause intolerance in sensitive individuals, but further studies are needed to consider the effect of concentration of the pure substances, and of food containing such preservatives on determining intolerance.