Two New Varieties of Non-Allergenic Soybeans

Filed in archive Allergy: Research and Development , Food Allergies on May 6, 2006

Soy is also a very common ingredient in a lot of food products, usually as fillers and extenders. For a lot of vegetarians, it is also a common alternative to meat because of its high protein cotent. However, a considerable number of people, particularly children, show allergic reactions such as skin rashes, gastrointestinal problems, or in more serious cases, swelling and diffulty of breathing and swallowing. If not for this, soy would have been an ideal food item, considering its nutritional value and relatively cheap price.

This is why scientists have tried to create genetically modified soybeans that are non-allergenic. They simply shut off that gene called p34, which has been found to be responsible for producing the protein that invokes allergic reactions. However, because of public resistance to GMOs, they tried other traditional approaches as well.

Alas, researchers from the University of Illinois and the USDA-Agricultural Research Service have been rewarded. After screening more than 16,000 soybean lines in the USDA's National Soybean Germplasm Collection, they found two varieties that are naturally deficient in the allergy-causing P34 protein. They said they will release these soybean varieties without patents to companies and breeders. Hopefully it doesn't take long before we consumers see them on the store shelves!