Évaluation des risques allergéniques pour les aliments génétiquement modifiés d'origine végétale

The rapid spread of agro-biotechnological products has aroused a lot of controversy about the benefits, risks and limits of transgenic plants. The harmful effects of edible genetically modified plants can include toxicity or the induction of unwanted immune responses such as an allergic or immune modulation activity. The evaluation of allergenicity is a step in the assessment of the biosecurity of food derived from GM crops. This review article focuses on a topic of current interest: analysis of the allergenic potential of foods derived from genetically modified crops, of institutional assessment strategies, and of techniques for identification of transgenic proteins having allergenic properties. Recent studies show the results in terms of the extent to which transgenic wheat crops (albumin/globulin and the gluten protein) are responsible for asthma and IgE food allergy. Thus, a comprehensive analysis of allergens (allergenomics) is essential not only for assessment of the risks of food plants, but also for the diagnosis of allergic symptoms.