A very broad range of professionals are using immunoassay technology daily to analyze genetically engineered (GE) crops and related areas, and many of these professionals are completely new to this technology. There is a great need for users to have a book containing technical and practical guidance, and describing limitations and pitfalls of applying immunoassay in agricultural biotechnology. This book focuses on the application of immunoassays to GE plants and related areas. A group of international experts from government agencies, academics and industries, who have many years of related experience, contribute high quality chapters in their areas of expertise. This book covers topics including principles of immunoassay, antibody engineering in AgBiotech, current technologies (formats, kit development, manufacturing and quality control), method validation, applications in trait discovery and product development, applications in grain products and food processing, applications in environmental monitoring, automation and high throughput, reference materials, data interpretation and source of error, and future perspectives and challenges. In addition, to meet the practical needs for a variety of readers from different backgrounds, methods and protocols are included as well.

Consumer safety has become a central issue of the food supply system in most countries. It encompasses a large number of interacting scientific and tech nological matters, such as agricultural practice, microbiology, chemistry, food technology, processing, handling and packaging. The techniques used in understanding and controlling contaminants and toxicity range from the most sophisticated scientific laboratory methods, through industrial engineering science to simple logical rules implemented in the kitchen. The problems of food safety, however, spread far beyond those directly occupied in food production. Public interest and concern has become acute in recent years, alerting a wide spectrum of specialists in research, education and public affairs. This series aims to present timely volumes covering all aspects of the subject. They will be up-to-date, specialist reviews written by acknowledged experts in their fields of research to express each author's own viewpoint. The readership is intended to be wide and international, and the style to be comprehensible to non-specialists, albeit professionals. The series will be of interest to food scientists and technologists working in industry, universities, polytechnics and government institutes; legislators and regulators concerned with the food supply; and specialists in agriculture, engineering, health care and consumer affairs. One of the most difficult situations to control is the contamination of food by small numbers of pathogenic micro-organisms before they multiply to give the large populations causing food poisoning when eaten.

Provides an introduction to immunoassays with discussions of concepts, format, data, and applications to residue analysis. Reports immunoassay analysis of veterinary drugs, including chemicals used in large animal production and antibiotics. Discusses the analysis of natural toxicants and contaminants including a review on immunoassays in mycotoxins. Reports on immunoassay of pesticides, analysis of residues in fish, as well as new applications of immunoassay methods.

This book systematically covers immunoassays for food, presenting detailed approaches such as antigen design, food matrix pre-treatment and detection format optimization for 9 classes of food hazards and nutrition constituents. Offering ideas on how to improve the efficiency of recognized xenobiotics and food contents, this practical book also describes the discovery and utilization of novel immune agents like aptamer and molecular imprinted polymers in food analysis. It is intended for a broad range of areas, including biologists and food chemists, and is sure to become a key reference resource for students and professionals alike.