Children have reportedly been using soft drinks to create false positives on Covid lateral flow tests (LFTs). Mark Lorch, professor of science communication and chemistry at Hull University, has revealed how parents can spot faked tests.

       Writing in The Conversation, Mr Lorch first tested whether soft drinks can actually fool LFTs.

       He dropped cola and orange juice on LFTs, and sure enough, two lines appeared, supposedly indicating the presence of Covid.

       The professor says that the most likely explanation as to why soft drinks can trick LFTs is that the acidity in the drinks affects the function of the antibodies within the test.

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       “Maintaining an ideal pH for the antibodies is key to the correct function of the test, and that is the job of the liquid buffer solution that you mix your sample with, provided with the test.”

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       Therefore, without the buffer solution, the antibodies in the test are fully exposed to the acidity of the drinks.

       When Mr Lorch washed a test that had been dripped with cola with a buffer solution, the T-line appeared, revealing the true negative result of the test.

       You can read Mark Lorch’s full hypothesis here.