1.6 min read
Desensitization therapy for peanut allergies has received wide approval from physicians, regulators and support groups. Now, there’s a new approach using gene-editied peanuts without the harmful proteins that can cause deadly reactions…
The simple snack at left could soon be something safe for everybody to enjoy. But researchers warn, the new gene-edited peanut variety may not eliminate all the dangers that can cause reactions from minor swelling and rashes to pot-entially deadly anaphylactic seizures…
Enter 21st Century science
The new peanut variety was created using CRISPR technology, removing three allergy-triggering compounds.
But allergists warn, it’s not that simple. “People with peanut allergies can be allergic to many different components of peanuts,” explains Dr Christopher Brooks, an allergist and immunologist at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. “If people are allergic to other components, they could still have an allergic reaction.”
But there’s a catch…
Nurtured Nuts is already developing ‘non-allergenic’ peanut butter and other products using the new peanuts. Nurtured claims their products deliver, “all of the flavor, none of the allergies.” The company hopes to start selling its new products early next year.
But – at least for now – Nurtured’s labels will carry warnings that its products ‘should not be consid-ered safe for people with peanut allergies’.
‘Further research needed’
More testing and proof of performance on the allergy front will be needed before Nurtured’s pro-ducts, and any others that appear soon, can be officially declared ‘allergy-free’. And if they don’t perform as claimed, further CRISPR work may be needed to eliminate remaining potentially dan-gerous compounds.
My take
The new peanut is a good start to a process that should, eventually, produce a totally allergy-safe variety. Which in turn will revolutionize the peanut industry and open new worlds of fun and nut-ritional benefits for millions of folks everywhere who can’t enjoy peanuts now.
But let’s not forget the ‘anti-Frankenfood’ lobby, which maintains that gene-edited foods in general are dangerous. A substantial movement still exists whose members say we don’t know enough about gene-edited foods to trust them yet. These energetic and outspoken crusaders have convinced millions of North American and European consumers that CRISPR-created plants and animals are unsafe for human consumption. In spite of assurances from scientists and medical authorities that they are completely danger-free.
With all that noise and confusion in the marketplace, it will be some time before significant numbers of manufacturers will risk launching new products based on gene-edited foods…
~ Maggie J.