Romer Labs, a food-safety diagnostic company founded in Washington, Mo., says it has launched two new test kits for gluten that use proprietary gluten-detection technology that target the most immunotoxic proteins for those intolerant to gluten, an approach that the company considers to be closer to an ideal test, as it established an important link between Celiac disease and finding immunotoxic peptides in food.

The AgraStrip Gluten G12 and AgraQuant Gluten G12 kits are lateral flow devices and Elisa quantitative testing kits, respectively, that employ a next-generation antibody called G12. The G12 antibody is more reliable for processed food such as cookies, as it determines the pathogenic component of a sample, independently to what grade the ingredients have been modified during the manufacturing process, according to Romer.

The kits can improve gluten detection support controls and labeling. Romer is showcasing the new products at the 2012 Food Safety Summit, April 17-19, in Washington.