Coco pops now just under one third sugar!

Kellogg’s announced yesterday that they had invested millions of pounds to reduce the sugar content of Coco pops in order to meet the needs of mums who want a lower sugar cereal that their children will eat. In so doing they have reduced the sugar content from 35 per 100 grammes to 29.75 per 100 grammes. […]

Balance blood sugar to keep aggression at bay

Research published this week suggests that  a sweet drink allowed students to remain calmer under stressful provocation than their counterparts who had been given an artificially sweetened drink. Student volunteers performed tasks such as preparing a speech to be read to a stranger; this speech was then criticised as boring and disappointing. Those who had […]

High fat diets may cause emotional disturbance

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behaviour (SSIB) has found that a prolonged high fat diet is associated with changing levels of a brain chemical called dopamine. This chemical conducts signals in the brain that control movement, emotional responses and the ability to feel pleasure […]

Nitrate content of beetroot juice lowers blood pressure

Researchers at the Queen Mary University of London and UCL have published a study that found that the high nitrate content of beetroot causes blood vessels to dilate, lowering blood pressure. Healthy volunteers who were given beetroot juice or nitrate tablets had their blood pressure reduced within 24 hours. Beetroot is a good source of […]

Baby blues treatment may be found

It has been known for a while that in the first three to four days after giving birth, oestrogen levls drop by up to 1000 times. A new study has identified an enzyme called monoamine oxidase A, which increases dramatically in proportion to this oestrogen loss. Monoamine oxidase A may contribute significantly to depression in new mothers because […]

Trans fats still a risk for coronary heart disease

Despite the recommendation of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) that trans fats should be banned, in line with current legislation in Denmark and New York City, the Government has today announced that it will neither ban the fats nor advise manufacturers to flag them up on food lables . Trans fats are hydrogenated oils that […]

NICE recommends banning trans fats

The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence has claimed that 40 000 lives could be saved each year if the amount of saturated fat and salt in food was cut and if toxic artificial fats called trans fats were eliminated. Trans fats are added to food in order to prolong shelf life, but they […]

Burgers linked to asthma

New research suggests that eating three or more burgers a week may put children at risk of developing asthma, whereas eating a mediterranean diet may lower the risk. Researchers writing in the journal Thorax have looked at 50 000 children from 20 countries in a 10 year study. Parents of children from wealthy and poorer […]

Alertness from daily coffee is shown to be an illusion

New research published last week in Neuropsychopharmacology shows that frequent coffee or tea drinkers who reach for their morning brew in order to stimulate themselves are merely reversing the fatigue caused by acute caffeine withdrawal. In tests on 379 individuals at the University of Bristol, Peter Rogers found that ‘…we don’t gain an advantage from consuming […]

Body fat linked to Alzheimer’s

A study published last week in Annals of Neurology  has suggested that people with fat stomachs could be at greater risk of developing dementia. The research, carried out by the University School of Medicine in Boston, demonstrated that levels of visceral fat that surround the organs are associated with smaller total brain volume. Dr Susanne Sorensen, head […]

US Custom changes Aug 29 2025

Every US shipment, regardless of value or content, must now undergo full entry with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

Our lab partners are working hard to reduce the impact of these new customs procedures on returning US bound test samples.

Unfortunately this change may impact your test results turnaround time

  • Transit times may be longer due to increased customs processing.

  • Samples may be delayed or held while clearance is completed.

If you have already sent back your sample and it is directly affected by these customs delays, our team will contact you individually to advise on the next steps.

We know how vital timely testing is for you and we greatly value your understanding while these changes take effect.

We expect the situation to improve as customs processes adjust, and we will provide updates as this develops.

Please do not return samples to the laboratories that may arrive after Wednesday 27th March and up to and including Monday 2nd April.

The laboratories are closed from the 28th March – 2nd April for the Easter Holiday.