Allergenicity of Genetically Modified Crops
There have been certain health claims made about GMOs, such as the claim that they can cause allergies and are capable of creating new allergens in foods that don't typically trigger an allergic reaction. However, it is tough to determine that GMOs cause allergies because a majority of studies are done on animals; animals have weaker immune systems than humans. It is safe to say that if a gene from a peanut has been transferred into the genome of a soybean, any person with a peanut allergy will have an allergic response to the transgenic soybean. This soybean is required to be labeled under the ingredients with "may contain" followed by the allergen that would trigger the reaction. Even though this circumstance does result in allergenicity, it is highly unlikely that a nonallergenic protein, when transferred, is able to become allergenic. In one study done in Australia, the results suggest that when the transgene is moved to its target gene the protein's structure is changed, therefore causing an immune response. When the same study was done again, the results were completely different from the originally recorded data. With the lack of studies, evidence, and accurate results, it is not scientifically correct to say that allergenicity is a problem when evaluating genetically modified foods.
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