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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Your child has been diagnosed with a peanut or tree nut allergy.
This information sheet tells you what foods your child can and can't eat and
gives you advice on day to day living with a nut allergy.
The treatment for nut allergy is a Nut Free Diet.
How do you avoid nuts?
• Don't buy nuts
• Don't have nuts in your home
• Don't cook food with nuts
• Only eat foods that you are certain don't contain nuts
• Learn to read food labels to check if a food contains nuts or nut products.
1 in 50 children has a peanut or tree nut allergy. Up to half of peanut allergic
children will become allergic to tree nuts over time.
Only 1 in 5 will grow out of their peanut allergy and 1 in 10 will grow out of tree
nut allergy; the others will continue to be allergic to peanuts or tree nuts.
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Peanuts can also be called
• Ground nuts
• Ground pea
• Earth nuts
• Pinder
• Goober
• Monkey nuts
Tree nuts include
• Cashew
• Almond
• Brazil
• Hazelnut also called a Filbert or a Cob nut or a
Noisette
• Pistachio
• Pecan also called a Hickory nut
• Walnut
• Macadamia also called a Queensland or a Candle nut
Peanuts are in the same family as:
peas, beans, kidney beans, chickpeas, lentils and lupin
but you don't need to avoid these unless you have reacted to them
Coconut, other palm nuts, water chestnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts,
nutmeg and mace are not nuts and are usually safe to eat
unless your child has actually reacted to them before.
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
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• European Union (EU) and Irish law states that milk and ingredients made
from milk must be listed on foods made in the EU.
This law does not apply when you buy foods in countries outside the EU
for example in the USA or when you buy foods which are sold loose.
Always check the label.
• Do not eat foods which have no label such as foods from a bakery or
delicatessen. If in doubt, leave it out.
• Some foods used in catering or in individual sachets can have different
ingredients to the ones in the shop even if they are the same brand.
Don’t assume they are nut free. Always check the label.
• If you are buying a food you have eaten before, you still need to check
the label as ingredients can change.
• Avoid any food that says "may contain traces of nuts".
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Common foods and drinks that contain nuts
Check the label
Avoid
Naan bread, speciality
breads like banana bread
All bread topped with
nuts or containing nuts
All breakfast cereals,
cereal bars
Nut containing cereals
for example muesli,
Crunchy nut cornflakes,
Fruit 'n fibre
Ready prepared fruit dishes
for example apple pie
All pre-packaged salads,
coleslaw
Nut based salads for
example Waldorf salad.
Peanut shoots
Cheese spread, yogurts,
cheese cake, milkshakes, ice
cream, ice lollies
Nut yogurts for example
hazelnut, nut ice cream,
cheese with nuts, nut
flavoured milk shakes
Breads
Breakfast Cereals
Fruit Dishes
Salads
Dairy Products
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Check the label
Meat
Avoid
Processed meat and poultry
products for example
sausages, burgers, breaded
meat, breaded chicken,
chicken nuggets, pate, ready
prepared meals
Asian and oriental foods
including tikka, korma,
satay, coronation
chicken, meat
marinades, vegetarian
foods for example nut
burgers, nut roast
Margarines, Mayonnaise
Unrefined peanut oil,
unrefined arachis oil and
unrefined groundnut oil
are very unusual in Irish
shops. The much more
common refined peanut
oils are safe for peanut
allergic people.
Most tree nut oils are
unrefined and are
therefore not safe for
tree nut allergic people
All biscuits, cookies, cakes,
brownies, pastries,
desserts, chocolate, sweets
Chocolate containing nuts
for example Kinder bueno
(hazel), Toblerone
(almond), Snickers (peanut)
Chocolate covered nuts,
praline, nougat, florentines.
Almond croissants,
bakewell tart, fruit cake,
carrot cake, cakes with
marzipan, dundee cake,
pecan pie, frangipane,
macaroons, halva, baklava,
amaretti biscuits, sweet
mincemeat
Fats
Cakes or Biscuits
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Check the label
Avoid
All spreads
Peanut butter, other nut
butters for example
Nutella (hazel) and Panda
All flavoured crisps,
oriental snacks for example
samosa, pakora
Bombay mix, Mexican
mix, trail mix, rice
crackers, mixed nuts,
dried fruit and nut mixes
Spicy soups, salad
dressings, dips, stock cubes,
stuffing mixes
Pesto (walnuts, cashew)
Some brands of hot
chocolate, check spirits and
liqueurs
Amaretto, frangelico,
crème de noix, nocello,
Bombay sapphire gin
Hydrolysed vegetable protein
(It can be of nut, soya or
wheat origin), avoid if
unspecified or of nut origin,
lecithin is usually derived from
soya but there is a possibility
of preparation from peanut
Almond essence
Spreads
Crisps
Soups/Stocks
Drinks
Other
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Living with nut allergy
The "Living with Food Allergy" sheet has some
important information on living safely with a food
allergy. You need to read this leaflet as well.
Make sure that everyone who looks after your child
knows what your child can and can't eat.
At home
It makes life easier if you do not bring nuts into your home and ask
others not to either. Unless your family is vegetarian this is usually not too
difficult for other family members to accept.
If this is not possible then you must make sure that your child doesn't
come into contact with nuts.
To do this:
• Keep nuts out of reach.
• Wash your hands well with soap and water after touching nuts.
• Clean work surfaces with soap and water. Water alone or cleaning
wipes are not enough.
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Peanut and Tree Nut Allergy
Other products that may contain nuts
Some non food products contain nuts and you should avoid these too
• Nut products are used in many animal and bird foods.
• All soaps, cosmetics and personal care products must carry a full
ingredients list. However the oil in these is refined and has never been
confidently implicated in a reaction. These ingredients lists are usually
printed in Latin. The following are some Latin names for nuts which may
be used in ingredients lists:
Latin Name
English Name
Prunus amara
Bitter almond
Bertholletia excelsa
Brazil
Anacardium occidentale
Cashew
Corylus rostrata/americana/avellana
Hazelnut
Macadamia ternifolia
Macadamia
Arachis hypogaea
Peanut
Carya illinoenis
Pecan
Prunus dulcus
Sweet almond
Juglans regia/nigra
Walnut
Pistacia vera
Pistachio
Your healthcare team
Your health
care team
Name
Contact number
Dietitian
Consultant
GP
Nurse
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