Peanuts Could Return to Schools and Airplanes. This Startup Removed 3 Allergy
Peanuts Could Return to Schools and Airplanes. This Startup Removed 3 Allergy-Triggering Proteins
AgriNetica used CRISPR to remove three common allergy-triggering proteins. Nurtured Nuts first targets schools, hospitals, universities, and flights.
Nurtured Nuts Co. wants to bring peanuts back to public spaces with their new allergen-reduced peanuts. The company is commercializing genetically-edited peanuts developed by AgriNetica, the U.S. division of Israeli biotechnology company BetterSeeds.
Peanut allergies are one of the most common food allergies in the Western world, with nearly 2 percent of the population having the allergy. It’s also one of the most serious with anaphylactic response like severe hives and throat swelling among the life-threatening symptoms. Some allergies are so sensitive and severe that mere contact or cross contamination can trigger a reaction, leading to many schools and similar areas limiting their consumption.
How the science works.
Using CRISPR gene-editing technology, AgriNetica has made genetically modified peanuts removing three proteins, Ara h 2, Ara h 6 and Ara h 7, that often trigger allergic reactions. They refer to the nuts as “reduced-allergen peanuts.”
“This is a defining moment for us and for everyone who’s ever wished peanut allergies did not exist as a barrier for the foods we love. We’re proving that science can make food safer without sacrificing what makes it great” Bryant Williams, Nurtured Nuts Company Founder and CEO, said after winning the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) The Pitch! competition. Nurtured Nuts won $10,000 from event sponsor and nonprofit Seeding the Future for winning the competition.
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According to a press release from the IFT, Nurtured Nuts, in partnership with Agrinetica, plans to sell commercially by 2027. The genetically edited peanut plant can be cultivated outdoors and grown at scale. Nurtured Nuts’ first crop was planted in Georgia with plans to harvest and process the nuts for sample purposes before their official 2027 commercial launch. The company also plans to open a fundraising round in September.
Their website currently has four products listed, a peanut-based snack bar, a peanut chocolate bar, peanut butter, and peanut protein powder, though none are in stock. The company has made “significant progress,” with the Food and Drug Administration
Putting peanuts back in schools.
“We’ve got a few specific channels that we’re going after first, which would be K-12 schools, partnering with colleges and universities and then looking at select hospitals for servicing foods for those chains as well,” Williams said to Food Business News. “And then, also very exciting, the idea of getting peanuts back into airplanes.”
Source: www.inc.com
