<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

The May 1996 edition of the Tufts University "Diet & Nutrition Letter" has an
article on the transfer of allergens from one food to another during genetic
alteration.  Although the foods -- brazil nuts and soybeans -- don't contain
gluten, I thought the implications were significant.  Here is an abridged
versioin of the article:

"...the release of a pivotal sudy that documents for the first time what many
scientists and consumer groups have suspected all along: it's possible to pass
an allergy-provoking gene from one food toanother.  An Iowa-based company,
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, took a gene from Brazil nuts and added it to
soybeans to boost the beans' nutritional profile.  Soybeans, often used as
animal feed, lack a certain protein component required for animal growth.  But
adding the Brazil nut gene would enable farmers to grow soybeans that contained
it.
"The hitch is that Brazil nuts commonly cause allergic reactions in people.  To
determine whether transferring the nut gene to the soybeans gave the new beans
the same allergy-provoking potential ... scientists at the University of
Nebraska ..  mixed blood samples from people allergic to Brazil nuts with
protein extracts from the genetically engineered soybeans.  Overall, the blood
samples 'reacted' the same way to Brazil nuts and the new soybeans.   Extracts
from regular soybeans, on the other hand, did not prompt any signs of allergic
response, leading the researchers to conclude that the allergen in the Brazil
nuts was in fact transferred to the genetically altered beans.  Skin-prick
testing conducted on people with Brazil nut allergies confirmed the findings:
that is, people allergic to Brazil nuts reacted to extracts from the new
soybeans but not to regular beans.
"...Currently the Food and Drug Administration protocol requires that companies
notify the government if a gene from a good that commonly causes allergies is
likely to be transferred to another food and then test the new food for
allergens.  If the tests show than an allergen has indeed been transferred, the
company must consult with the FDA to determine, for instance, whether the food
must carry a warning label.
[Pioneer decided not to sell the new beans for fear they'd get mixed up with
regular soybeans and allergic humans would eat them with potentially fatal
consequences.]
"...The FDA protocols apply only to situations in which companies are dealing
with foods known to provoke allergies ... [Steve Taylor, PhD, University of
Nebraska] notes that the chances of developing an allergy-causing food using
genes from foods not known to be allergenic are remote.  Furthermore, he adds
that the great majority of companies shy away from experimenting with genes from
foods with known allergens.  Why?  They don't want to risk running into the same
problems and costs that Pioneer encountered."