Early reports of research at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University indicate a new process has been discovered that will totally inactivate peanut allergens.

The process, which has been patented, does not degrade the taste or quality of treated peanuts, and may render them easier to process for use as a food ingredient, according to the scientist Mohamed Ahmedna who developed the method. The work has not been published to date.

Reports are based on immunoassay tests on human serums of severely peanut allergic individuals which showed no reaction to peanut allergens. The process is the first in a portfolio of peanut innovations to be available for commercialisation from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.