Evidence-based regulations for bioinformatic prediction of allergen cross-reactivity are needed

Abstract

The bioinformatic criteria adopted by regulatory agencies to predict the potential cross reactivity between newly expressed proteins in genetically engineered crops and known allergens involves amino acid identity thresholds and was formulated nearly two decades ago based on the opinion of allergy experts. Over the subsequent years, empirical evidence has been developed indicating that better bioinformatic tools based on amino acid similarity are available to detect real allergen cross-reactive risk while substantially reducing false-positive detections. Although the formulation of safety regulations, in the absence of empirical evidence, may require reliance on expert opinion, such expert opinion should not trump empirical evidence once it becomes available. The failure of regulation to maintain consistency with the best available scientific evidence diminishes its value and creates arbitrary barriers to the use of beneficial technologies by society.

Keywords: Allergens; Bioinformatics; Cross-reactive; Empirical evidence; Expert opinion; Genetically engineered crops; Regulation.