Gene-Altered Food Triggers Allergy

Surprise! People allergic to Brazil nuts could have had a reaction to bioengineered soybeans! EDF continues to call for broader labeling of such foods.

EDF has long called for more extensive labeling of genetically engineered foods, because of a concern that gene-altered foods may cause allergic reactions in susceptible individuals. That concern is now substantiated in a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine , which reports that people allergic to Brazil nuts can have an allergic reaction to soybeans bioengineered to contain a Brazil nut gene.

People with food allergies depend on labels to avoid foods that cause reactions," said EDF biologist Dr. Rebecca Goldburg, head of EDF's biotechnology program. Labeling is especially critical for genetically engineered foods, which are modified through proteins produced by the introduced genes. Nearly all known food allergens are proteins.

A person allergic to bananas, for example, can refer to ingredient labels on processed foods to avoid those that contain bananas," Goldburg said. Unless bioengineered foods are labeled, however, banana-allergic people will be unable to avoid a tomato with a banana gene, since such tomatoes would likely look identical to other tomatoes."

The bioengineered soybeans were developed by the giant seed company, Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., to have high levels of the amino acid, methionine. The goal was to make nutritious animal feed, but some of the gene-altered beans would enter the human food supply in soybean-based food additives. In response to the evidence, Pioneer has dropped plans to market the soybeans, because it does not want to be responsible for segregating the engineered soybeans from other soybeans.

Good News for Weeds?

In an unrelated study reported the same week, a food crop bioengineered for pesticide resistance was found to transfer its pesticide-resistant trait to weeds growing nearby. This confirmed another concern of EDF's biotechnology program, namely that bioengineered traits could be transferred unintentionally to wild plants, with potentially negative impacts on the environment.

Food allergies such as those in the soybean study are a serious public health problem, affecting 2.5 to 5 million people in the United States, a disproportionate number of whom are young children. Most allergic reactions to food cause only discomfort, but some cause a severe and sometimes fatal reaction called anaphylactic shock.

EDF has urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to protect people with food allergies by requiring labeling of many more genetically engineered foods than FDA now requires. An editorial in the New England Journal of Medicine accompanying the research article concurs with this recommendation.

EDF MEMBER ACTION ALERT

To comment on this issue, write: Dr. David Kessler, Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, 12420 Parklawn Dr., Rockville, MD 20857