While an allergy is, to a large extent, an inherited trait, concerns have been raised that with the advent of genetic engineering - which introduces new proteins into crops - proteins with allergenic properties might be introduced unwittingly into the genetically modified (GM) plants. On the back of these concerns, strict procedures for conducting safety studies have been recommended by the WHO, the OECD and the US FDA, among others. As the study of allergies as a health problem has progressed in leaps and bounds over the past two decades, several methods of evaluating new products to determine if GM plants or other new foodstuffs contain a known source of allergens are now available.