Fungus could make peanuts less allergenic

From The New Scientist:

By simply baking peanuts with a harmless fungus, researchers can dramatically decrease their “allergenicity”. The process could one day allow millions of peanut allergy sufferers to enjoy nutty foods without fear of a lethal reaction, they suggest.

“This is a simple biological method that is safe, edible and won’t add too much to costs. If the process is adopted by industry we think it could really help to reduce allergies,” says Mohamed Ahmedna at North Carolina A&T University in Greensboro, US, one of the team.

Peanuts cause the most severe food-induced allergic reactions. An estimated 1.1% of the US population is allergic to peanuts and each year approximately 100 people die from food-related allergic reactions, many provoked by peanuts or tree nuts.

More here.