Researchers claim to reduce peanut allergy risk
US researchers say they can make peanuts which remove the risk of life-threatening allergic reactions, according to a report in magazine New Scientist.
The trouble is they may not taste as good as the original.
Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture’s Southern Regional Research Centre in New Orleans, Louisiana, suggested the flavour of roasted peanuts, made up of constituents proteins and sugars, caused the sometimes fatal allergic reactions.
To remove the risk would remove some of the taste, they said.
Although the risk of anaphylactic shock is slight, fatal allergy reaction kills about 10 people with a food allergy in the UK per year and around 100 in the US.
Severe allergic reaction can include swelling of the lips and throat, difficulty in breathing and in some circumstances unconsciousness.
In the UK, it is estimated that one in 200 people is allergic to peanuts, with some health experts fearful that the numbers could grow further.
New Scientist said Dr. Si-Yin Chung, who led the research, was hopeful that further modification of the process may eventually preserve most of the taste.
