A bulletin for the Australian Food Industry September 1996
Contents: Salmonella: more unusual incidents | Ciguatera poisoning | Phthalates in foods | Ozone treatment of mineral water | Effective sanitation programs | Thermal processing of foods | Transfer of allergens in genetic manipulation of foods | National food hygiene standards
Transfer of allergens in genetic manipulation of foods
One of the most commonly expressed concerns about genetic manipulation of foods is the possible transfer of allergenic material from one commonly recognized source to another unrecognized source. While genetic material from known allergenic foods is rarely used in manipulation trials, Steve Taylor cited a specific instance where this occurred in his 1996 J.R. Vickery Address at the 29th AIFST Convention earlier this year.
Scientists from Pioneer Hi-Bred International, a US seed company, inserted a gene from Brazil nuts, a known allergenic food, into soybeans to enhance their nutritional quality. The transferred gene carried the genetic basis for producing a protein rich in methionine, an amino acid essential in human and animal nutrition. The resulting transgenic soybeans contained much more methionine than conventional soybeans, the nutrient value of which is limited by deficiency in this amino acid.
However since Brazil nuts were known to be allergenic, the potential allergenicity of the transgenic soybeans and the high-methionine protein were evaluated using standard allergen testing procedures. The high-methionine protein was demonstrated to be the major Brazil nut allergen and the seed company did not proceed with the commercialization of the methionine-enriched soybeans.
This shows that recommended protocols for testing genetically modified foods do work to protect consumers.
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