From schools and hospitals to airplanes and restaurants, peanuts are banned in a lot of places, as they can trigger life-threatening allergic reactions in sensitive people. Now, a Minnesota food-tech startup called Nurtured Nuts thinks it has a version that doesn’t need to be.
Using CRISPR gene editing, a powerful technology that lets scientists precisely cut and alter DNA at specific locations, the company removed three distinct proteins from peanut DNA, namely Ara h 2, Ara h 6, and Ara h 7, that are responsible for severe allergic reactions.
The result is a hypoallergenic, not fully allergen-free peanut that most people can eat safely. The idea is that everyone else in the room could eat the peanuts in question without putting anyone with a severe peanut allergy at risk.
The company recently won ‘The Pitch!’ at the Institute of Food Technologists’ competition, IFT First Annual Event and Expo, validating the scientific approach behind their gene-edited, hypoallergenic seeds. While currently in the early stages of commercial development, Nurtured Nuts is already looking toward a 2027 market entry, aiming to become a key ingredient supplier for food manufacturers looking to mitigate allergy risks.
Living with the risk
More than six million Americans have a food allergy, and peanuts rank among the top three most common ones. Because reactions can be fatal, schools, hospitals, planes, and restaurants have long been excluded from menus.
The company’s field trials are already underway at an agricultural site in Georgia to refine its gene-edited, hypoallergenic crop. The USDA approved the startup’s application to grow and propagate the seeds in Georgia in late 2025, while FDA approval could come as early as 2027.
CEO Bryant Williams noted that the timeline for bringing the product into restaurants, cafeterias, or hospitals, however, remains unclear, partly because potential partners have different visions for the product.
“This is a defining moment for us and for everyone who’s ever wished peanut allergies did not exist as a barrier for the foods we love. We’re proving that science can make food safer without sacrificing what makes it great. The opportunity ahead is enormous, and we’re just getting started,” Bryant said in a statement.
Texas Roadhouse, for instance, offers one glimpse of the kind of demand Williams is chasing. The chain quietly switched to sealed bags of peanuts last summer instead of serving them loose with shells on the floor, a move likely driven by both slip hazards and allergy concerns.
Genetic modification remains a hurdle, however. About half of American consumers were wary of GMO foods in 2020, and states like Alabama and Florida have banned lab-grown meat outright, largely because the concept turns people off.
Nurtured Nuts is banking on countertrends being just as powerful, much like the lines that formed when plant-based meat substitutes such as Beyond Meat and Impossible Burgers first hit the market. Essentially, the company’s broader pitch rests on rising demand for protein amid high meat prices, along with growing interest in domestically produced food.
Sources: EIN Presswire, Institute of Food Technologists, New York Post