Low-allergy peanut breakthrough

 A low-allergy peanut which could transform the eating habits of those who have to avoid them is being developed in the US.

Researchers there are creating naturally grown peanuts with two major proteins that cause allergy bred out of them. If experiments succeed, the nuts could be sold in shops and used by food manufacturers to cut the risks associated through the contamination of other foods on production lines.

In the past 20 years, the number of British children with peanut allergy has nearly doubled, with one in 55 being diagnosed with it.
Professor Soheila Maleki, whose team at the US Department of Agriculture is working on the project, said the nuts were the first that did not involve genetic modification.
An anti-allergy vaccine based on the same principle could also be created, although she stressed further research was needed.
Prof Maleki’s team has been breeding peanuts that are missing two major allergens (proteins that cause allergy). The experts have also identified peanuts that are missing a third major allergen, leading to the possibility of adding these into the mix.
One benefit of a low-allergy peanut is that people could consume them in childhood and would therefore be less likely to become allergic to peanuts in the first place.

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