Allergy Free Eggs

It may seem a little science fictionish, but researchers at Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Australia believe they can modify the proteins within egg whites to produce chickens which will lay allergy-free eggs.

Maybe we can also answer that age-old question- "Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

In this case, the egg wins.

Researchers at Deakin, in collaboration with CSIRO in Geelong and the Poultry Co-operative Research Centre, state that there are four proteins in egg white that cause allergic reactions. They have found a way to effectively switch off those allergens in the egg, which will make a chicken that will then lay eggs free of allergens.

This could lead to a flu vaccine free of egg allergen and may even lead to bakery items and other commercially available foods that can be labelled as containing "allergen-free eggs". 

While the research is expected to take another three years to complete, there is a possibility of allergy-free vaccines in five years. 

This leads me to wonder if allergens can also be switched off in peanuts, dairy and other foods that cause allergic reactions for many people.

Stay tuned!

Food Allergy Research Centers

I mentioned CoFAR in my previous post discussing the possible relationship between milk and egg allergy to peanut allergy. CoFAR (Consortium of Food Allergy Research) is a network of food allergy centers that includes Duke University, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, National Jewish Research & Medical Center, and University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

This consortium was established in July 2005 by the National Institute of Health to conduct multi-center clinical studies and basic research towards further understanding of food allergies.

Each site can be contacted directly for those interested in participating in a food allergy study or assisting in some other way.