Removing a Food Protein Does Not Guarantee an Allergen Hypoallergenic

(Updated March 26, 2021)

I have read far too many personal testimonies in our corn allergy group of over 7,000 members [now 12K+ members] which confirm that the removal of corn "protein" does not guarantee corn hypoallergenic.  The next time a medical professional or manufacturing company declares to you that a particular product should be safe since the corn "protein" has been removed, please request that they produce the documentation to confirm their claim.  From the articles I have researched on this subject, it appears that this claim is false or misleading.

Personal Testimony (reprinted with permission by C.P.)
"I had a doctor prescribe a cream with refined peanut oil (dermasmoothe) knowing my daughter was anaphylactic to them. Guaranteed it would be safe. Put a little on her leg and she went into full body hives. I reported it and she still tried to prescribe it again! I refuse everything now and do my own research."

Removing a Food Protein Does Not Guarantee an Allergen Hypoallergenic

Pastorello EA, Pompei C, Pravettoni V, Farioli L, Calamari AM, Scibilia J, Robino AM, Conti A, Iametti S, Fortunato D, Bonomi S, Ortolani C. Lipid-transfer protein is the major maize allergen maintaining IgE-binding activity after cooking at 100 degrees C, as demonstrated in anaphylactic patients and patients with positive double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge results. J Allergy Clin Immunol. 2003 Oct;112(4):775-83. doi: 10.1016/s0091-6749(03)01942-0. PMID: 14564361.

"CONCLUSIONS:  Maize LTP maintains its IgE-binding capacity after heat treatment, thus being the most eligible candidate for a causative role in severe anaphylactic reactions to both raw and cooked maize."
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/14564361/

"In general, allergenic foods are resistant to processes commonly used in food manufacturing. Nearly all the causative proteins (allergens) retain their allergenicity after treatment by heat and/or proteolysis. Notable exceptions exist . . ."
https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4615-4853-9_8

"Processing may influence, but does not abolish, the allergenic potential of proteins."
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0278691515000848

"A number of thermal and nonthermal food processing interventions have been tested on various allergenic foods to reduce their allergenicity. However, complicated food matrices and varied detection methods make it very challenging to apply a particular technology for reducing allergenicity."
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/319295806_Removal_of_Allergens_in_Some_Food_Products_Using_Ultrasound

"James R. Baker, Jr., MD and CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Food Allergy Research and Education, an advocacy group for people with food allergies, cautions, “we still have much to learn about the biology of an allergic response to a food protein. At this point, there are too many unanswered questions in the field of food allergy and in the specific research on hypoallergenic peanuts [or corn] to be able to foresee all of the challenges and implications that such a product would bring."
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/allergy-free-peanuts-not-so-fast/

"10.4 Future Trends
Newer technologies, such as genetic modification, are being developed to reduce allergenicity by removing, silencing, or modifying the genes for specific allergenic proteins within foods . . . To date, however, there is no example of a food allergen that has been rendered completely devoid of allergenic activity using these methods.  This is due to the fact that each food contains a number of allergenic proteins, each with multiple allergenic epitopes.  Unless these methods can eliminate all of these proteins, or modify all allergenic epitopes, the remaining proteins or epitopes could still elicit a reaction in sensitive individuals (FDA, 2005)."
https://books.google.com/books?id=muZRAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA170&lpg=PA170&dq=does+removing+protein+from+an+allergen+render+it+hypoallergenic&source=bl&ots=xSF2FN7Yao&sig=yXmZyqzQ0YDSz_DMV7Bn55K8svo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiBiP6fsobYAhWF7yYKHTLUAoc4ChDoAQgmMAA#v=onepage&q=does%20removing%20protein%20from%20an%20allergen%20render%20it%20hypoallergenic&f=false

"Food allergens are proteins that are usually very resistant to heat, digestion, acid, and alkali.  Some food allergens have remarkable tenacity, and most food processing treatments do nothing to reduce their allergenicity."
https://books.google.com/books?id=U6LaBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=does+removing+protein+from+an+allergen+render+it+hypoallergenic&source=bl&ots=jSkCyiKhtQ&sig=5tyJ8QI9zMSyKBJrqfSQihQCqJY&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiihMOP_IXYAhXLSiYKHeDmDqEQ6AEIQzAE#v=onepage&q=does%20removing%20protein%20from%20an%20allergen%20render%20it%20hypoallergenic&f=false

"Approaches to Establish Thresholds for Major Food Allergens and for Gluten in Food," U.S. Food & Drug Administration, March 2006 

"3. Cross-Contact
[Note:  Since corn is ubiquitous and is currently exempt from FDA labeling requirements, cross-contact is a major cause of allergic reactions to the corn allergy population.]

Allergens, or proteins derived from allergenic foods, may be present in foods as the result of cross-contact during processing and handling. The term "cross-contact" describes the inadvertent introduction of an allergen into a product that would not intentionally contain that allergen as an ingredient. Cross-contact may occur when a residue or other trace amount of a food allergen is present on food contact surfaces, production machinery, or is air-borne, and unintentionally becomes incorporated into a product not intended to contain, and not labeled as containing, the allergen. Cross-contact may also result when multiple foods are produced in the same facility or on the same processing line, through the misuse of rework, as the result of ineffective cleaning, or may result from customary methods of growing and harvesting crops, as well as from the use of shared storage, transportation, or production equipment. Cross-contact of foods with allergens has been shown to lead to allergic reactions in consumers on numerous occasions (Gern et al., 1991; Jones et al., 1992; Yunginger et al., 1983). Much cross-contact can be avoided by controlling the production environment."
https://www.fda.gov/media/78205/download

CLEANING STRATEGIES TO REMOVE FOOD ALLERGENS AND TOOLS FOR DETERMINING EFFICACY
http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FMeetings%252FCX-712-49%252FPresentations%252FCleaning_for_Controlling_Allergens_CCFH.pdf

 

Diane H., Corn Allergy Advocate
Corn Allergy Advocacy/Resources
Email: https://cornallergyadvocacyresources.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @CornAllergy911

Additional References:

Corn Allergen Lists
https://cornallergyadvocacyresources.blogspot.com/2018/07/corn-allergen-lists.html

STRICT AVOIDANCE OF ALLERGENS IS ALWAYS ADVISED
https://cornallergyadvocacyresources.blogspot.com/2020/05/strict-avoidance-of-allergens-is-always.html

Corn Allergy References, Surveys, Studies (“. . . Maize major allergen . . .”), Statistics, & Petitions
https://cornallergyadvocacyresources.blogspot.com/2018/04/corn-allergy-reference-links.html

 

Blog Post Link:

Removing a Food Protein Does Not Guarantee an Allergen Hypoallergenic
https://cornallergyadvocacyresources.blogspot.com/2017/12/removing-food-protein-does-not.html