Pupils are using FRUIT JUICE to get false positive Covid test results

Pupils are using FRUIT JUICE to get false positive Covid test results as schools issue warning to parents to be ‘vigilant’

  • Droplets of orange juice can break lateral flow tests and show a positive result 
  • Viral videos on TikTok have encouraged children across the UK to try the trend
  • Schools have warned parents to be ‘vigilant’ when their children are tested 

Pupils have been using fruit juice to get false positive Covid-19 test results as schools warn parents to be ‘vigilant’.

When droplets of orange juice or fizzy drinks like coca-cola are placed on a lateral flow test it can produce a positive result because the acidity of the drink destroys the antibody proteins in the test.

And although it does not work every time, viral videos on Tik Tok and Instagram have been encouraging children across the UK to try the trick to get out of going to school.

One video seen by MailOnline was captioned ‘fed up of going to school? Want to get a positive covid test? Use orange juice’.

Gateacre School in Belle Vale, Liverpool, send an email to parents yesterday warning them to watch over their children as they take lateral flow Covid tests. 

Viral videos on Tik Tok and Instagram have been encouraging children across the UK to try the trick to get out of going to school. Pictured, Hannah Buckley-Dunn a year 11 student at Gateacre Comprehensive School in Liverpool, takes a lateral flow test

The school warned parents children around the country had discovered a trick for producing a false positive reading. 

When droplets of fruit juice or coca-cola are dropped onto the test the acid destroys the antibody proteins inside it

When droplets of fruit juice or coca-cola are used on the test the high acid level destroys the antibody proteins inside it. 

The email read: ‘Nationally, some school students have discovered that placing droplets of orange juice or other fruit juice on an LFD test gets a false ‘positive’ result. 

‘In light of this, can you be extra vigilant when your child is doing their LFD tests. Also, remind them that a positive LFD test must be followed by a confirmatory PCR test.’ 

Headteacher Gareth Jones insisted the message was sent after they were made aware of students in ‘other schools in the country’ obtaining void or positive results by pouring orange juice onto Covid tests.

He said: ‘This practice has been shared on social media channels including TikTok.

When droplets of orange juice or fizzy drinks like coca-cola are placed on a lateral flow test it produces a positive result. Pictured, a positive test


One video seen by MailOnline was captioned ‘fed up of going to school? Want to get a positive covid test? Use orange juice’

‘We have no evidence of this taking place in our community. However, we thought we would share this with our parents so that they were aware of the practice and to supervise the home testing of their child, wherever possible, when using LFD tests.

‘We also advocate that any positive result obtained from an LFD test is confirmed by obtaining a PCR test using one of the many testing facilities across the city.’

A Government spokesman said it is ‘imperative’ lateral flow tests are used in the correct way.   

They added: ‘Around one in three people with Covid-19 experience no symptoms and rapid testing with lateral flow tests helps us track down positive cases that would otherwise go under the radar.’

False positives: How acidic drinks break lateral flow tests 

Covid-19 rapid antigen tests were created for humans and only work using samples from the throat and nose.

The tests are designed to detect specific antigen proteins found in the coronavirus.

Lateral flow tests are taken by swabbing a human’s mouth and nose, mixing this into a solution and dropping the solution onto the test strip, which is laden with antibodies. 

When the right antigens are present, both antigen and antibody cling to one another. Once the two bind, another binding happens with the labelled antibodies in the test zone. This then changes the colour of the band and produces a positive result.

The tests are designed to detect specific antigen proteins found in the coronavirus

When coca-cola or fruit juice is used on the test instead of human samples the highly acidic pH level can damage it, especially if the buffer that is meant to keep the pH constant during the experiment is not used.

Misuse of rapid antigen tests can cause false positives because the test has been broken and the antibodies on the test sheet are destroyed.

If a sample untreated with buffer is placed in the kit’s sample well, ‘you destroy the antibody protein of the test, which reacts with the virus,’ test producer DIALAB said. 

A spokesman for the company added that this would destroy the buffer layer and a positive test zone would be created.    

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