The lure of the allergen-free peanut

Once again, the appeal of the magic bullet seems to over-ride sensibilities. Scientists at the University of Florida have identified a variant of a peanut protein that is apparently less likely to cause an allergic reaction. This opens the prospect of being able to satisfy the peanut cravings of the more than 2.5 million people in North America and Europe who suffer peanut allergy. But imagine the nightmare of labeling, accidental contamination and downright fraud? There are some pretty choice labels around at the moment. I remember one that read something like “Made in a factory that never processes any kind of nuts” which strikes me as one up on “May contain nuts”. But “Contains ara h 3-im peanuts” doesn’t strike me as all that reassuring.

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