Can GE foods cause new allergies?
Allergies are typically caused by proteins, and since most engineered crops produce new proteins, it is possible that new allergens could be added to a GE plant. In fact, several years ago an allergen was inadvertently transferred from the Brazil nut to a genetically engineered variety of soybeans. That allergen was detected by safety tests and the GE soybeans were never commercialized. No conclusive tests currently exist to predict whether a GE protein that has never been in the food supply, as is the case with many engineered crops, will cause allergic reactions. Instead, several tests are used that together provide some confidence that the new protein will not be an allergen. Those tests have been conducted for the already commercialized products, but often not with the best test procedures (for more on the inadequacies of the current safety testing at FDA see Plugging Holes in the Biotech Safety Net. It is also important to keep in mind that while we consume tens of thousands of di
