Names: David D'Atre and Charles "Luke" Heater
Category: Chemistry
Abstract: Food allergies affect millions of Americans. Every year,
allergic reactions to various foods prompt at least 30,000 Emergency Room
visits. Shellfish allergies are among the most common allergenic foods—and
most dangerous. An economic and convenient method of identifying foods
containing shellfish would unquestionably save lives every year, and
provide peace of mind to countless other individuals who suffer from
shellfish allergies. Shellfish are known to contain high levels of iodine.
This experiment tests the viability of using iodine as an allergen
indicator for shellfish in foods by using potassium iodide and amylose
starch as reactants. In the presence of iodine, a prepared indicator
solution would turn dark purple. In the present study, however, the method
proved ineffective at detecting iodine in shellfish. Of all the materials
tested, only pure iodine demonstrated visible results from the indicator.
None of the tested shellfish—shrimp, crab, crawfish, or
lobster—demonstrated any reaction with the indicator solution. The results
suggest that because the indicator was not reactive enough to detect iodine
in pure, isolated shellfish, it would also fail to identify small
quantities of shellfish within a more complex dish, rendering it useless as
an indicator. Thus, iodine is not a viable indicator for the presence of
shellfish. Current methods of testing for the presence of shellfish by
identifying the protein saxitoxin are in production, but need further
refinement in order to become economically viable. Future research should
be directed toward this end.