Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, April 17, 1994 TAG: 9404170050
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: Medium
But it may not be so easy for people to pass up some of the potential allergy-triggering mixes from genetic manipulation of corn, tomatoes, squash and countless other foods.
What if, for example, something from a Brazil nut is put into some soybeans, soybeans that end up in everything from baby formula to bologna?
That kind of question once would have seemed foolish before scientists learned to move genetic material from plant to plant, animal to plant, bacteria to plant, virus to plant.
Government regulators, biotech companies and physicians have grown increasingly concerned about the prospect of shuffling allergens into the deck of a food's DNA. The Food and Drug Administration is bringing together some of the top scientists this week to hash out the issue.
After all, the price of wrongful noshing runs from hives to a life-threatening asthma attack for any of the millions of Americans who are allergic to nuts, eggs, milk, peanuts and other foods.
"Anything that you transfer raises a question," said Dr. Hugh Sampson, pediatrician and food allergy specialist at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. "You've just got to decide how likely is it to be a problem."
Scientists hope that by adding, deleting or changing hereditary traits, they can develop crops that taste better, stay fresh longer, offer more nutrients and fewer fats, resist pests, or tolerate herbicides.
But the effort by the world's largest seed company to pack more nourishment into a soybean shows what a risky business genetic engineering can be - and how well the few safeguards have worked so far.
Researchers at Pioneer Hi-Bred International Inc. of Des Moines knew that Brazil nuts have methionine, a sulfur-rich amino acid that livestock and poultry need.
Soybeans are a top livestock feed, but they're poor in sulfur. Adding methionine would make the soybeans more of a super-feed.
But Pioneer knew about the allergy problem. The FDA told biotech companies in May 1992 to check for allergens when they test the safety of their products.
Pioneer asked for help from Stephen Taylor, head of the food science department of the University of Nebraska. Taylor tried the product on blood serum from people with nut allergies and found there was a reaction.
"We are evaluating the research project for the best path forward," said Steve Daugherty, company spokesman. Options include finding a way to transfer the protein without the allergen, or dropping the project altogether.
The test showed it is possible to screen bio-engineered foods for known allergens. It also holds out the promise that scientists can use biotechnology to start snipping out allergens.
But biotechnology also raises the specter of creating or adding new allergy-inducing substances to the food supply from sources such as the viral coat proteins that can help a plant resist disease.
Many scientists argue that the risks are low, particularly since it appears that only a handful of the tens of thousands of proteins cause allergies. The new materials introduced by genetic engineering are added in low levels and may not be present in the edible part of the food.
Still, ignorance about food allergies makes it difficult to get as clear a picture of the hazards as most scientists would like.
"There's no foolproof test" for suspected allergens, said Taylor, who nonetheless believes the risks are acceptable.
Scientists estimate that food allergies afflict about 2 percent of young children and 1 percent of adults. Peanuts, milk, eggs, soybeans, fish and shellfish top the list of allergy-causing foods in this country.
New foods mean new reports of allergies as more people try them. Soybean milk, once thought to pose little or no risk of allergic reactions, has been found to trigger them.
The biotechnology revolution could be a boost for the food allergy researchers. The only real prevention for allergy sufferers is to avoid the dangerous foods.
by CNB