A negative, double-blind, placebo-controlled challenge to genetically modified corn

Sutton, Steven A.; Assa’ad, Amal; Steinmetz, Christine; Rothenberg, Marc E.

doi:10.1016/s0091-6749(03)02024-4

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

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“…Some of the concerning issues include the putative toxicity-allergenicity of crops expressing foreign proteins, [22][23][24][25] although these fears have not been confirmed in some later studies, 26,27 and the adequacy of the methods of testing have been questioned. 28 Considering that the past few decades have witnessed a significant increase in IgE-mediated allergic diseases, the allergenic potential of these novel foods is a major concern in public health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of detectable allergenicity of transgenic maize and soya samples

Batista

Nunes

Carmo

et al. 2005

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

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Background: The safety issues regarding foods derived from genetically modified (GM) plants are central to their acceptance into the food supply. The potential allergenicity of proteins newly introduced in GM foods is a major safety concern. Objective: We sought to monitor, in potentially sensitive human populations, the allergenicity effects of 5 GM materials obtained from sources with no allergenic potential and already under commercialization in the European Union. Methods: We have performed skin prick tests with protein extracts prepared from transgenic maize (MON810, Bt11, T25, Bt176) and soya (Roundup Ready) samples and from nontransgenic control samples in 2 sensitive groups: children with food and inhalant allergy and individuals with asthmarhinitis. We have also tested IgE immunoblot reactivity of sera from patients with food allergy to soya (Roundup Ready) and maize (MON810, Bt11, Bt176) samples, as well as to the pure transgenic proteins (CryIA[b] and CP4 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase). Results: None of the individuals undergoing tests reacted differentially to the transgenic and nontransgenic samples under study. None of the volunteers tested presented detectable IgE antibodies against pure transgenic proteins. Conclusion: The transgenic products under testing seem to be safe in terms of allergenic potential. We propose postmarket testing as an important screening strategy for putative allergic sensitization to proteins introduced in transgenic plants. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2005;116:403-10.)

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lack of detectable allergenicity of transgenic maize and soya samples

Batista

Nunes

Carmo

et al. 2005

Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

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“…This modified type of soybean has been in use for more than 10 years in Korea, but it remains unknown whether GM soybeans are more allergenic than their non-modified counterparts. A recent study4 demonstrated that GM corn did not increase the risk of allergic reactions in patients. Another study, using an in vitro test, reported that transgenic maize and soya seemed to be safe in terms of allergenic potential 5…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Evaluating the Allergic Risk of Genetically Modified Soybean

Kim

et al. 2006

Yonsei Med J

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Genetically modified (GM) soybean (carrying the EPSPS transgene) is the most common GM food in Korea. In order to assess whether genetic modification increases the allergenic risk of soybeans, the allergenicity and IgE-reactive components of wild-type and GM soybean extracts were compared in allergic adults who had been sensitized to soybeans. We enrolled 1,716 adult allergy patients and 40 healthy, non-atopic controls. Skin prick tests and IgE enzyme linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) were performed using wild-type and GM soybean extracts, along with other common inhaled allergens. The specificities of serum IgE antibodies from allergic patients and the identities of the IgE-reactive components of the soybean extracts were compared using ELISA inhibition testing, 2-dimensional gel electrophoresis, and IgE immunoblotting. To evaluate the effects of digestive enzymes and heat treatment, the soybean extracts were heated or pre- incubated with or without simulated gastric and intestinal fluids. The IgE sensitization rates to wild-type and GM soybeans were identical (3.8% of allergic adults), and circulating IgE antibodies specific for the two extracts were comparable. The results of the ELISA inhibition test, SDS-PAGE, and IgE immunoblotting showed a similar composition of IgE-binding components within the wild-type and GM extracts, which was confirmed using two-dimensional gel electrophoresis, IgE immunoblotting, and amino acid sequencing. None of the subjects had a positive response to purified EPSPS protein in the skin prick test, ELISA, or IgE immunoblot analysis. These findings suggest that the IgE sensitization rate to GM soybean extracts is identical to that of wild-type soybean extracts in adult allergy patients. In addition, based on both in vivo and in vitro methods, the allergenicity of wild type and GM soybean extracts was identical.

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“…In addition, it was capable of inducing allergic reactions in Brown Norway rats, but these results were not considered in the evaluation by the USEPA because this animal model had not (and has not) been validated for assessing the allergenic potential of transgenic proteins [151]. Unfortunately, StarLink corn did get into the human food supply and 51 people claimed allergy to it, but no clinical food allergy was ever confirmed [152,153].…”

Section: Applications Of the Assessment Of Potential Allergenicitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Food Safety

Borchers

Teuber

Keen

et al. 2009

Clinic Rev Allerg Immunol

150

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Food can never be entirely safe. Food safety is threatened by numerous pathogens that cause a variety of foodborne diseases, algal toxins that cause mostly acute disease, and fungal toxins that may be acutely toxic but may also have chronic sequelae, such as teratogenic, immunotoxic, nephrotoxic, and estrogenic effects. Perhaps more worrisome, the industrial activities of the last century and more have resulted in massive increases in our exposure to toxic metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic, which now are present in the entire food chain and exhibit various toxicities. Industrial processes also released chemicals that, although banned a long time ago, persist in the environment and contaminate our food. These include organochlorine compounds, such as 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethane (dichlorodiphenyl dichloroethene) (DDT), other pesticides, dioxins, and dioxin-like compounds. DDT and its breakdown product dichlorophenyl dichloroethylene affect the developing male and female reproductive organs. In addition, there is increasing evidence that they exhibit neurodevelopmental toxicities in human infants and children. They share this characteristic with the dioxins and dioxin-like compounds. Other food contaminants can arise from the treatment of animals with veterinary drugs or the spraying of food crops, which may leave residues. Among the pesticides applied to food crops, the organophosphates have been the focus of much regulatory attention because there is growing evidence that they, too, affect the developing brain. Numerous chemical contaminants are formed during the processing and cooking of foods. Many of them are known or suspected carcinogens. Other food contaminants leach from the packaging or storage containers. Examples that have garnered increasing attention in recent years are phthalates, which have been shown to induce malformations in the male reproductive system in laboratory animals, and bisphenol A, which negatively affects the development of the central nervous system and the male reproductive organs. Genetically modified foods present new challenges to regulatory agencies around the world because consumer fears that the possible health risks of these foods have not been allayed. An emerging threat to food safety possibly comes from the increasing use of nanomaterials, which are already used in packaging materials, even though their toxicity remains largely unexplored. Numerous scientific groups have underscored the importance of addressing this issue and developing the necessary tools for doing so. Governmental agencies such as the US Food and Drug Administration and other agencies in the USA and their counterparts in other nations have the increasingly difficult task of monitoring the food supply for these chemicals and determining the human health risks associated with exposure to these substances. The approach taken until recently focused on one chemical at a time and one exposure route (oral, inhalational, dermal) at a time. It is increasingly recognized, however,...

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A negative, double-blind, placebo-controlled challenge to genetically modified corn

Cited by 23 publications

References 1 publication

Lack of detectable allergenicity of transgenic maize and soya samples

Lack of detectable allergenicity of transgenic maize and soya samples

Evaluating the Allergic Risk of Genetically Modified Soybean

Food Safety

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