A process was begun in the mid-1980’s to develop methods for evaluating the safety of foods produced in genetically modified (GM), or genetically engineered crops used to produce foods. The potential allergenicity, toxicity and nutritional equivalence of genetically engineered crops used to produce conventional food products was used as the basis for safety evaluation. The United States government (Food and Drug Administration: FDA) is the lead US regulatory agency that works with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to evaluate food safety. Other countries (e.g., the United Kingdom, countries of the EU, India others who are members of the World Health Organization and Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations worked to develop an overall international guideline intended as a model for regulations of each country. The process was formalized through the CODEX Alimentarius (CODEX, 2003) following international debate, with very minor revisions in 2009. The primary risks of GMOs and Novel Foods are the same as to most historically used foods. If you are allergic to a food, you have IgE antibodies to some proteins in the food that you must avoid.

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