Plain language summary of the scientific opinion on Risks for human health related to the presence of plant lectins in food

Risks for human health related to the presence of plant lectins in food Background• Lectins are naturally occurring proteins found in many plants, including legumes (such as beans, lentils and peas), grains (such as wheat, barley and oats) and vegetables (such as tomatoes, potatoes and eggplants).Their main characteristic is their specific binding to carbohydrates.• There are different types of lectins, some binding to simple sugars (e.g.banana lectins) and others to complex carbohydrates (e.g.bean lectins).The latter can lead to adverse effects in humans, mainly gastrointestinal illnesses and allergic reactions.• Legumes stand out from other foods in this respect, as they contain high levels of lectins that specifically bind to carbohydrates in the cells of the gastrointestinal tract.• Adequate food processing and preparation (e.g.soaking and cooking) can render lectins biologically inactive (they lose the ability to bind to carbohydrates).Inadequately prepared food containing lectins can cause health problems in humans.• Before this scientific opinion, EFSA and other major food safety bodies had not conducted a comprehensive quantitative risk assessment of plant lectins.• However, the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) issued a statement on the health risks related to lectins in plant-based food, and several EU Member States (e.g.Germany, Ireland, Austria, Finland and Sweden) have made recommendations on safe food preparation to reduce consumer exposure to lectins.