YORK scientists have developed a new test to detect traces of peanut that could bring hope for food allergy sufferers.

By looking for the DNA of peanuts in processed food the test can detect traces as tiny as one in 10 million.

If the method, developed by scientists at the Central Science Laboratory, near York, proves a success, it could lead to the first tests for different nuts plus other food and drink known to cause allergic reactions.

Peanuts are the most common causes of allergy in the UK with about one in 200 people thought to be affected, rising to up to one in 70 children. Traces of peanut as small as a dust particle are enough to cause a reaction which, in the worst cases, can kill. More than 170 types of food are known to cause allergic reactions, with nuts, milk, wheat and shellfish among the most widely known.

About ten people a year in the UK die from suffocating after having an allergic reaction to something they ate. Until now just one test- the Elisa - has been available to detect traces of peanuts. Further research will now take place to determine whether the test can be used in manufacturing and different types of food.

Updated: 12:30 Friday, February 07, 2003