"FoodAllergy" news and stories

Thanks to the work of a North Carolina food scientist, help is on the way for the more than half million U.S. residents who suffer from life-threatening peanut allergies.

Dr. Mohamed Ahmedna of North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University has devised a way to deactivate peanut allergens. The allergens are removed by processing rather than by breeding. All of this has no effect on the peanut's taste or quality, and may actually make them easier to process.

Ahmedna's discovery is also a boon for peanut farmers, who produce the U.S.' 12th largest crop valued at some to $1 billion a year. His work is good news for folks with other food allergies, too. Ahmedna is tweaking his process to remove allergens from other foods.

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A decision by the makers of Wonder Bread  to list the dairy ingredient whey on its labels far in advance of a change in its recipe has alarmed food allergy experts.

Interstate Bakeries feels it's giving the public a heads-up by listing whey in the list of ingredients, even though it expects to change the recipe by the end of the year. The allergy experts are concerned that such a move will undermine faith in labeling and could very well spur parents of children with food allergies to take dangerous chances with products. Interstate decided to add whey to the bread to improve its taste and texture.

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