Peanut Allergy Foods to Avoid

People with peanut allergy should know about foods to avoid, as many who are allergic to peanuts are allergic to other nuts like walnuts, cashews or brazil nuts.

Doctors admit that the ubiquity of foods to avoid makes avoidance difficult and accidental ingestion common. Many of these foods are also popular with children, making it difficult to prevent contact or consumption. Good substitutes are available, however, for foods such as peanut butter.

Be sure to avoid foods that contain any of the following ingredients:

cold pressed, expressed, or expelled peanut oil
ground nuts
mixed nuts
Nu-Nuts® artificial nuts
peanuts
peanut butter
peanut flour

Foods that may indicate the presence of peanut protein include:

African, Chinese, Thai, and other ethnic dishes
baked goods
candy
cereals
chili, spaghetti sauce
chocolate (candy, candy bars)
crackers
egg rolls
hydrolyzed plant protein
hydrolyzed vegetable protein
ice creams, frozen yogurts, tofutti
marzipan
nougat

Coconut and peanut allergy

Coconut, the seed of a drupaceous fruit, has typically not been restricted in the diets of people with tree nut allergy. However, in October of 2006, the FDA began identifying coconut as a tree nut. The available medical literature contains documentation of a small number of allergic reactions to coconut; most occurred in people who were not allergic to other tree nuts. Ask your doctor if you need to avoid coconut.