Before any product of modern biotechnology is brought to market, it goes through years of safety testing that includes rigorous evaluation for nutritional equivalence, toxicity, potential allergenicity, food composition and effects on non-target insects and the environment. If we find that labeling will not adequately protect consumers, we will take steps to prevent marketing of the product. For Additional Information Evaluating biotech food products for allergenicity and other safety considerations. Safety issues associated with the DNA in animal feed derived from genetically modified crops. A review of scientific and regulatory procedures.
Biotech products have the potential for reducing exposures to food and environmental allergens.
Researchers are developing techniques to identify and neutralize the genetic material that causes rice, wheat, peanuts and other foods to evoke severe allergic reactions in some people. Work at the University of Arkansas Medical School shows promise for reducing the allergenicity of major peanut proteins. At Nagoya University in Japan, research has demonstrated that the concentration of rice allergens can be reduced by adding an anti-sense gene. Researchers at the University of California have known for decades that a bacterial protein could alleviate allergens in many foods, including cereal, milk and soy. However, until it became possible through biotechnology to insert a single gene into a plant such as wheat or barley, they were unable to transfer the potential benefit to grain.