Pink peppercorns seemed like an innocuous ingredient until they almost killed my daughter. I’m so thankful for an Amazon reviewer for solving the mystery for us.
Originally published February 20, 2014
The information about this hidden allergen is extremely important to share among the nut allergic community and I continually thank the Amazon reviewer who solved a mystery for us.
This post about pink peppercorns could very well save many lives; maybe even the life of someone you know.
My daughter has a severe tree nut allergy,* meaning if she ingests any form of tree nuts, she will stop breathing (anaphylaxis) and die. Even a trace could do the deed–it’s that severe.
Discovering that my daughter was allergic to tree nuts (she was 4)
We learned this the hard way when she was four years old. Denisa ate a chocolate Christmas ornament which was filled with a hazelnut paste. I cannot adequately describe to you what it feels like, and the terror that fills every part of your being when you hear your child barely choke out the words, “I can’t breathe”, and to see her gasping for air.
I immediately called 911, and she was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance. This was my family’s very first experience with any sort of allergy, and it was life-changing for all of us. Nuts were now a dreaded, dangerous and life-threatening food.
The incident at the restaurant
Fast forward 10 years: on the 4th of July, my daughter was at a restaurant at Disneyland with one of her best friends when I received a phone call from her friend’s mother. She told me that she thought my daughter had ingested some form of tree nuts, and was wondering whether to use the EpiPen (a shot of epinephrine) for her anaphylactic reaction.
Of course, I was petrified, and told her that my daughter had to be the one to make that decision.
Luckily, she ended up getting the nuts out of her system and the use of the EpiPen was averted. I’ve since read several news reports that prove that this doesn’t always happen. Sometimes there’s a death, instead of a happy ending. My daughter was incredibly fortunate.
PRINT THIS FOR TRAVELING WITH NUT ALLERGIES!
A mystery
At this point, the biggest problem was that the chef was baffled as to how this occurred, as he was certain that the Tortellini Alfredo and focaccia were nut-free. It was the only incident in which we had no idea what had caused her reaction. I spoke to the chef the next day, but there was still no luck in deducing what had instigated her anaphylaxis, so we were left with a mystery.
Mystery solved!
About two weeks after this incident, I was browsing peppercorns and pepper blends on Amazon.com, when I clicked on a Four Seasons Pepper Blend, which included pink peppercorns, or pepper berries. The first review caught my eye:
I couldn’t believe what I was reading, and wondered if the chef might have used this pepper blend in the pasta or focaccia that my daughter had eaten. I quickly did some research, and confirmed what the reviewer had posted. Pink peppercorns were in fact related to cashews!
Immediately, I called the restaurant, and began to ask the chef if he used this pepper blend. I hadn’t even finished asking the question, when he exclaimed, “Yes! Yes! Yes!” What a relief to finally know what had caused her reaction.
It’s disconcerting to think that we actually had a pepperberry tree in the backyard of our previous house, and I used to cut the berries and use them for various crafts. This is what the berries look like.
From Wikipedia:
Peruvian pepper (Schinus molle, also known as American pepper, Peruvian peppertree, escobilla, false pepper, molle del Peru, pepper tree, peppercorn tree, Californian pepper tree, pirul and Peruvian mastic.) is an evergreen tree that grows to 15 meters (50 feet). It is native to rhe Peruvian Andes. The bright pink fruits of Schinus molle are often sold as “pink peppercorns” although S. molle is unrelated to true pepper.
This information needs to be spread as widely as possible:
Pink peppercorns, pink pepperberries, pink berries, Peruvian pepper and whatever else they may be called, are related to CASHEWS and can cause an anaphylactic reaction in those who are allergic to CASHEWS/TREE NUTS.
Here’s what you can do to help spread the word:
- Forward this information to anyone you know who has a nut allergy. I have contacted Penzey’s Spices (who have still done nothing to label the warning 5 years later!) and other spice retailers to ask them to place this warning on their labels. If you can do the same thing, changes will happen more quickly, and hopefully avert potentially life-threatening allergic reactions in future (see update below: great news!)
- If you or your child has a nut allergy, make sure to ask at restaurants, at friends’ homes, and wherever your food is prepared if a pepper blend including pink pepper berries has been used. Inform them that the berries are related to tree nuts.
- Contact newspapers, local TV news, etc. to feature articles or segments on this information.
- Spread the info via social media; ask others to share, re-tweet, re-pin, etc.
- Translate the info into other languages, and share outside our borders.
- Pass on the information by word of mouth; you never know whose life you might save.
PLEASE click here to CHECK OUT THIS POST AS I HAVE DISCOVERED MORE HIDDEN ALLERGENS!
My concerns and some points to remember ~
* Many people throw the word “allergy” around loosely. Please be aware of how important it is that this term is used correctly.
It terrifies me that the server who is used to hearing guests order something “on-the-side” due to an “allergy”, notices they ate it anyway. Consequently, they won’t take allergies seriously anymore. Food Babe, who has hundreds and thousands of followers and has written books on the subject of food choices, advises her readers, “Go as far as telling the server you allergic to butter and dairy, soy and corn.”
I, and many others have commented on her post to tell her how this is endangering those who have LIFE-THREATENING allergies which occur within seconds. However, she refuses to remove this wording in her post. In fact, she banned me from her Facebook page when I wrote to tell her the consequences from her advice.
Many people don’t realize that simply touching nuts, and then touching other food is enough to cause anaphylaxis in some allergy sufferers, my daughter included. However, there are others whose allergies are even worse than hers. Think about the nuts being consumed in planes; it’s frightening.
UPDATED 10/19: I flew Norwegian airlines for the first time in June and was horrified at the filthy condition of the floor, including peanuts! I gave them another try this past week and guess what? The same conditions! Do they never clean their planes? This is unacceptable, especially for nut allergy sufferers!
Similarly, there is no barometer to measure or communicate how serious an allergy is. It’s completely open to interpretation. These things directly impact my daughter’s life and so many others’, too.
Finally, please be mindful of the impact that use of the word “allergy” can have.
UPDATE: my daughter attended Villanova University which has a “no nut” policy, which we didn’t discover until after we placed our deposit! I was elated. If you are concerned about your child going off to university with a nut allergy, besides being a top university, Villanova takes allergies extremely seriously. She graduated without an incident at the dining halls and restaurants.
pink peppercorns
Great post Christina, I found out about pink peppercorn being in the tree nut family by accident and found it so disturbing that the information is not included in pepper mixes. There has to be a disclaimer regarding this the results can be deadly. Very sorry about your daughters allergic reaction but very happy that everything is alright,
Yes! That’s why I contacted Penzey’s Spices and other spice companies, but I doubt one phone call will make a difference (even though it should).
Thank you! My two year old is allergic to tree nuts (as well as soy, peanut, egg, chickpea and sesame). It’s especially scary because she can’t verbalize when she’s having a reaction
Oh my! I can’t even imagine that many allergies when tree nuts are bad enough on their own. I hope she outgrows all of them! So glad you have this information now!
That IS scary.
That IS scary. Maybe you can develop a system using pictures.
Hi Christina,
I am sorry that you had to learn the hard way about this information. I can imagine how this must have been for you and your daughter. I never had this problem happen to my son when he was young or anyone that I know, but you are 100% correct that many people have no idea when they say they are allergic. I am also an advocate for leaving a review online of anything that you purchase. That is the first thing I look at when I am thinking of purchasing a product from food, to lamps.. That was good that the chef realized the full impact of this problem. I am glad that your daughter is well, but she will be more aware now that she knows what to look for. Great post…sometimes we don’t always need a recipe, information is a recipe as well, if you think about it… Blessings to your family…
Dottie :) PS good luck on the Homie awards, I am not going as far as you…Hope that you get into the “five”…
Thank you for your kind words, Dottie, I truly appreciate them. Christina
I am so sorry you had to learn things in such way.. I can only imagine how it feels. And who would have knows that pepper can also be so dangerous, this is definitely very important and useful information. Thanks!
Thank you, Medeja…yes, you never know when it could help someone.
Wow so scary but so good to know with all the nut allergies.. Praying for your daughter, I couldn’t imagine!
Thank you so much, Serena! She’s off to college next year…wish she could outgrow the allergy. CC
HI Christina,
thank you so much for you post about this. My son, now 23, has had peanut allergies and tree nut allergies since he was 4 too. (same kinda thing…Christmas candy!…scariest thing ever). Just want to encourage your daughter to talk to the food services people at school herself about what she needs. At Matthew’s school one day they forgot to label one of the sauces and it meant a trip to the hospital. Matthew has learned not to eat any sauce that’s mustard colored unless he’s absolutely sure!
thanks again!
Great post. Nut allergies are a terrifying subject and hopefully this will help spread the work on pink peppercorns!
Yes, they are, Alanna. Thanks for speeding the word! CC
Wonderful post, Christina, I’m so sorry you had to go through all this…my nephew is also deathly allergic to tree nuts, I’m going to forward this to my sister, thanks for the great info!
So sorry to hear your nephew is also allergic, but so glad to get the info out to your sister who I’m sure will share it with others with nut allergies, etc. Thank you, Sue! CC
Gread info, Christina! I’ve sent this along to my cousin (who happens to be a chef) whose son is allergic to nuts. Thanks for sharing.
Angela
That’s the kind of comment I was looking for…passing on the info to those who are directly affected!! Thanks, Angela!
Thank you for passing on this information and I will as well. It is truly terrifying to have a child with a life threatening allergy, only made worse by the ‘ignorance’ of others. I have family members who do not take my child’s allergies seriously, you are so on point that people need to stop throwing the term “allergy” around just because they don’t like a food. Thank you again.
Thank you for this! I too am allergic to tree nuts and had a friend forward this to me. Cashews and Walnuts are the worst for me so this could have been dangerous. Thank you for following up with the company, I am sure you have saved someone’s life.
Very happy to know you got this information, Denise! I can only hope this has helped save at least one person’s life or even one person from having a scary reaction! Thanks for letting me know you found this and hope you pass it on to others. :) CC
I agree. Just because you don’t like a food doesn’t mean you’re allergic to it. Allergies are serious. One can have a sensitivity or intolerance to something like gluten, but does that person get a serious, life-threatening, reaction, like anaphylaxis, or hives, rash, or itch?
Yes. Celiac is that serious. It may not risk death with one exposure, but it can have longer lasting effects than a rash.
If I am exposed to gluten in the air or a small bit of cross contamination, maybe I’m only sick for the rest or the day with cold symptoms, but more than a few strains of the protein can give me asthma, crippling headaches, chronic fatigue, skin blistering, depression, and suicidal thoughts. The last time I was exposed (by a waiter on purpose, they settled out of court), I had these symptoms for 6 weeks after I are two bites.
How about those of us in the food allergy and food allergy adjacent communities build each other up instead of trying to reduce the other as not as serious? That’s why I avoid the word intolerance and use the medically inaccurate “allergy” to describe my celiac or dairy protein that causes severe migraines intolerance reactions. Because no one takes intolerances seriously, while the only difference is the risk of anaphylaxis. Other than that, the symptoms range from mild to severe.
Emma, I’m sorry you feel I was saying celiac is not serious, but as you yourself stated in your first sentence, you will not die with one exposure or one bite, but my daughter will. Please understand the seriousness of knowing that one taste, not even swallowing sometimes, can mean death. Although your symptoms are serious, none of them include dying within minutes. I want everyone to realize the severity of anaphylaxis, that’s all.
It’s a sad comment on society if people will only take something seriously if a person risks death with one exposure. Completely apart from any health issues, what about personal autonomy? People should have control over their own bodies, therefore they should have full freedom to decide what they do or do not eat, and consequently they have every right to know what’s in their food, period. I find it irritating sometimes when I ask whether something’s in the food and the server asks “why are you asking?” Why are they asking why am I asking, so they can lie to me or just make something up if it’s not life-threatening?
I completely agree, Ruchira. We absolutely should have the right to know what’s in our food, however as was shown last year, here in California, we voted NOT to know, if you can believe it! I personally didn’t vote that way, but was dumbfounded when it did not pass! People just don’t realize, and more importantly, don’t want to know about our food sources. It truly is sad.
And I don’t think that the way to educate people into taking anaphylaxis seriously involves trying to draw a line in the sand between how cautiously food service people should take my condition and your daughter’s condition. Last time I was exposed I had constant suicidal thoughts for the first week after exposure. I had to keep telling myself that the thoughts were created by my condition. And this will happen with every exposure. Imagine what could happen to a person who is depressed for other reasons?