Your favorite peanut butter recipes fly by the wayside when one of your children tests positive for a peanut allergy. Peanuts are cheap, plentiful and easily made into a smooth or crunchy paste for sandwiches and cookies. Peanut butter is also used as a thickener for chili, sauces and gravy, as well as a paste for ethnic rolls and sweets. Learning what peanut butter foods not to eat is easy; learning what could be cross-contaminated with peanut butter can be a challenge. Knowledge of both is a must when peanut butter must be avoided due to risk of anaphylaxis.
Foods to Avoid
Just 0.1 mg of an airborne peanut protein is enough to cause adverse nose and eye reactions in those with allergies. Ingested peanut protein may cause anaphylaxis. Peanut butter products like peanut butter morsels or chips, ground-up boiled or shelled peanuts, satays, marzipan, chili or gravy, cookies, candy, ethnic foods, and peanut oil can be deadly. This list is not all-inclusive. Always defer to your allergist for guidance.
May Contain Peanut
Peanut butter may be elusive in foods. Restaurants sometimes use peanut butter to thicken gravies, chili or stew. Egg rolls are sometimes glued together with peanut butter. Read labels and menus carefully as artificial and natural flavoring isn't always spelled out and may contain peanut. Crumb toppings, chocolate, crusts and nougats may also contain peanut or peanut butter. Eating out at restaurants and public events may be risky; pack your own foods.
Knowledge is Key
Avoiding peanut and peanut butter products may be hard for your family, friends and schools to understand and accommodate. They may not know arachis is another name for peanut or that labels listing hydrolyzed peanut, plant or vegetable protein may be dangerous. It's tough to avoid peanuts and peanut butter because manufacturers of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, pet food, toys and crafts often use peanut products in their processes. The Federal Food and Drug Administration does not require label rules on products that they do not regulate.
Deli Warning
Cookies and cakes made in a delicatessen are often cross-contaminated with peanut butter products. This means that any hands touching your deli meats and cheese without gloves or changing gloves are also cross-contaminated.
References
- Kids With Food Allergies: Peanut Allergy Avoidance List
- North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension: 2011 Peanut Information
- University of Cincinnati Net Wellness: Peanut Allergy in the School Environment: Myths and Facts: Part 2 of a 2-Part Series
- Calgary Allergy Network: Cross-Contamination: What is Peanut-Free?
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