Hidden Allergens: Pink Peppercorns, Tree Nut Allergies and how an Amazon Reviewer Helped Solve a Mystery
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
Thanks for this info. In 1979 (I was 3), I ingested Pine Nuts at my Mom’s friends house. I was able to live pine nut free until the mid-90’s when they made a resurgence in the midwest. In 2007 I ingested them multiple times in just a few months, even telling the wait staff “I will die from pine nuts”. I ended up with PTSD from the entire situation. I spent thousands of dollars being tested for allergies.
Thank you for spreading this information. As the mother of two young children who has a nut allergy, I am always on the look out. And I always have two epipens wherever I go!
Hi Cynthia, I can absolutely understand why you’d have PTSD from so many incidences within a short period of time! I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I found out my daughter was also allergic to pine nuts when she was eating ravioli and told me she thought there were nuts in them. Of course she was right (although they are considered seeds) but she is allergic to them, too! Good luck to you and your children, and I hope that your epipens are never necessary!! CC
Thank you so much for writing this! As a parent of a child with severe food allergies (including tree nuts), I can relate to everything you are saying. Food allergies are so scary!
Thank you, Deitra! It’s nice to hear from parents who can completely relate! Thank you so much! CC
How can I forward or share this information. Could you email me this article so I can forward to my son and daughter-in-law who are not on facebook. Their 5 yr. old is anaphylactic to peanuts, tree nuts, etc. Don’t know if they’re aware of the peppercorns. Thank you so much
Hi Roz, here is the link to the article which you can copy and paste into an email (you may have to ask someone to help you copy and paste, but it’s pretty easy): https://christinascucina.com/2014/02/hidden-allergens-pink-peppercorns-tree.html Or you can simply verbally tell them to visit my site at christinascucina.com and search the word “allergy”. Thank you so much for passing on the information! CC
Thank you so much for sharing! My daughter also has a severe tree nut allergy and the reactions are life threatening. It took me forever to realize that her reaction to mangoes was legit as it’s the same family as cashews as well.
Thank you for your comment, Tiffany! I have now told my daughter to avoid mangoes, too. We are not big on mangoes in my family, so it’s never been a problem but now she knows just to stay clear of them. Better to be safe than sorry! Thank you again! CC
My sister sent this to me. I, too, have serious allergy issues and unfortunately, they seem to be growing. It’s easier to state what I’m not allergic to and can eat rather than give my list. My worst ones (ones that send me for immediate help): peppers (chili pepper / capsaicin faimly which is ALL ribbed peppers in the world), cocoa bean/products, coffee beans/products, and peanuts. Please, also, be aware that some so-called Pink Peppercorns are also related to the capsaicin (chili pepper) family – at least, one version. I found this out the hard way when I had a violent reaction to one of WildTree’s spice mixes. They weren’t too concerned, but I was – especially as it was not listed on the ingredient list, I had no idea WHY I had reacted, and had to do a lot of research to discover the problem. These days, I try to look up the plant family due to inter-related issues. As you noted – the cashew family. BTW – did you know that Mangoes, Cashews, and a couple of other foods have the same “protective” oil around them as Poison Ivy/Poison Oak? They are OK if cleaned/harvested/cut correctly. But, again, I learned that after eating a Mango and my mouth/face swelling and breaking out with poison ivy style blisters. It wasn’t on any of the tests that I took.
I have been so frustrated with some of my favorite restaurants where I once could eat safely. The menu and listed ingredients have not changed, but the chef has changed and thinks that hot peppers should be placed in everything. The other problem is cross-contamination while preparing; that’s the hardest one to get across to kitchen staff. It is a struggle, but I continue to try and explain “allergies” to waiters and chefs and my work colleagues. My work colleagues now completely understand the problem and several I have trained on the Epi-pen trainer – they know where it is and what to do should the worst happen. I carry benadryl everywhere for those “surprises.”
Thanks for sharing!
Donna, I cannot imagine having your allergies! It truly must be a daily nightmare…and I am so sorry you have to deal with them. Due to your comment and others on this post, I have told my daughter not to eat mangoes, it’s just not worth risking it, since she’s already allergic to their relatives!
I’m so glad your colleagues are all trained in using the Epipen! Good job…I hope you never need ti! Take care, CC
THANK YOU! My son has a major tree nut allergy. This was super helpful, and I’ve passed it on.
Sorry to hear your son has a nut allergy, but so happy that you got this information!! Thank you for letting me know, DeeDee! I appreciate it! CC
I mean this with total respect but am wondering about something… I have a son who has an allergy and when he was growing up I had to keep an epi pen with me at all times. At the beginning of your post you explained what your daughter’s allergy would mean if she ingested nuts. Shortly after you speak of your daughter being in Disneyland and the other mom calling to say she had ingested nuts and should she give her the shot. Your comment was it had to be your daughter’s choice whether she took the shot or not. I am surprised. Someone who has that severe of an allergy to anything that they would die if taken would not be in a position of deciding if they should take the shot or not. As I said I am sorry if this is coming off as being disrespectful. That is not my intention. Coming from a mother of a child with that severe of an allergy it would never have offured to me to give my child the choice of taking the shot or not as they would already be at the point of not breathing
Hi Sally, if you go back and re-read my post, you will see that my friend did not say that my daughter ingested nuts, but they thought she must have had something with nuts because she was having a reaction. However the chef swore that there were no nuts in her meal, so this was the difficulty they were facing: to decide to give her the shot if she hadn’t even had any nuts. My experience with my daughter and her nut allergy is not the same as yours with your child, and being miles away, I wanted my daughter to be the one to decide, not me (having no clue what was going on or how she was feeling), and I wonder how you knew she was at the point of not breathing? I too, am the mother of a child with a severe allergy, but I am not you. Thank you for offering your opinion on how I mishandled the situation, but I did my best, given the circumstances and the information I was given. CC
Thank you so much for taking the time to write about your experience! My two year old daughter is severely allergic to peanut and almonds, and allergic to eggs. I had no idea about the pink peppercorns, I am sharing this article with my family and on social media to help spread the word. When a reaction does happen, it helps to know what caused it and now I know to check for this pepper just in case!
Yes, Cassandra, it is definitely terrible not to know what caused a reaction! Sorry to hear about your daughter’s allergies, but so glad you found my post! Good luck! CC