FDA Broaches Food Safety of Allergen Proteins in Genetically Modified Novel Crops
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a letter reminding developers and manufacturers of new plant varieties used for food intending to transfer genes for proteins that are food allergens (including allergens from foods identified as major food allergens) into such new plant varieties of the relevant legal requirements for such products.
Foods derived from new plant varieties developed using genetic engineering or genome editing are often referred to as Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or as “bioengineered.” An example of gene transfer of allergen proteins into novel plants would be adding the gene for an allergenic animal protein to a new plant variety to provide a non-animal source of the protein to use as an ingredient in another food.