Dipsticks!

I love this idea. And the name. What fun! Oh, and useful . . .

Researchers hope dipstick holds the key to food poisoning prevention

By Ann Bagel Storck on 3/26/2007 for Meatingplace.com

Researchers at the University of South Carolina have developed a disposable dipstick that can detect whether a food is safe to eat or whether it has spoiled to the extent that it could cause food poisoning.

The dipstick is made of polymers that change color in the presence of nonvolatile biogenic amines, which are generated during the bacterial decay of food proteins. In a paper presented at a national meeting of the American Chemical Society in Chicago, the researchers said the amines provide an indirect measurement of the extent of food spoilage.

The goal is to eventually market the dipstick as a test kit that consumers could use at home or in restaurants.