Food allergies with GM crops
Interesting article from the
Center for Global Food issues regarding GM crops and the potential for food allergies.
Gives a rundown of the StarLink corn issue from a few years ago (StarLink was for animal feed but it accidently found its way into tacos).
bq. Allergy risks hit the headlines again in 2000, when traces of StarLink biotech corn were found in a variety of processed American foods. StarLink had been approved for feed use, but not for food, because a potential allergy risk had not been ruled out.
bq. Seventeen consumers claimed they suffered allergy attacks due to StarLink “leaking” into food products. However, tests showed that the Cry9C protein in StarLink was at least 500 times less allergenic than peanut butter. Then, Centers for Disease Control testing found that none of alleged victims had antibodies to the StarLink protein. Whatever attacked the consumers wasn’t StarLink. (Our widely present foodborne bacteria are a far more likely cause.)
Posted by DaveH at November 11, 2003 10:00 AM