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
Thank you so much for this information. My daughter is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts. We recently learned that she’s allergic to lotions that contain almond oil. Turns out many lotions contain this! Sometimes only the Latin name is used on products: prunus amygdalus. Her skin gets red and itchy from it. So check your lotions and skin products if you are allergic to almonds.
Thank you, Miriam. My daughter has reacted to several lotions, but as I recall it was macadamia nut oil. She is able to eat almonds, so that doesn’t affect her skin either. Good luck to your daughter and thanks for the info, it will likely help other readers here! CC
I don’t understand why your daughter did not use her epipen. Allergic reactions happen so fast even though you feel fine one minute you may not the next and then it may be too late. Can you explain her symptoms and why she chose not to use it?
Ann, the reason we have never used the epipen is that we have followed her doctor’s instructions, and from all the comments on this post, I’m thinking that her instructions are not at all good ones. She took Benadryl and then vomited and was fine afterwards, but I’m reading about delayed reactions and secondary reactions which also scare me now.
Was the homeopathic treatment your cousins son went thru called NAET?
I had severe environmental, wasp and banana allergies from nearly birth until my mid-20s. I started shots at age 5. By my 20s, the allergist released me, after the shots threw me into the 20 th anaphylactic reaction to that point. He said there was nothing more they could do. I ate Tylenol sinus like candy, desperate to relieve the symptoms my Rx meds didn’t.
Out of desperation, I tried NAET with my Chiro. It involves resetting the energy meridians in the body, while holding a vial of the allergen (in a specific sequence), then avoiding that substance and all related for 24 hours. It sounded ridiculous, but I would have drunk mule pee at midnight, on a mountain if it would have helped by that point! I have no idea how/why this worked for me, but it did! It wasn’t even because I believed it would, because I didn’t! But after the series of treatments, I was no longer allergic to all the trees, grasses, animals, mold, etc that I had been! And the severity of my worst reactions to banana and latex were significantly reduced. They didn’t have wasp avail, so I still carry an epi pen for that. I was able o get off all my OTC and Rx meds! I can now enjoy fall and spring, rather than dreading it!
I have no idea if I just happened to be an ideal subject, or if the NAET treatments, that truly SOUND ridiculous, i know, would work on anyone, but I just wondered if it were the same program as your family member.
Also, having been a Paramedic for 14 years, I would like to stress the importance of calling 911 any time you have to use an epi-pen. The epi DOES NOT REVERSE a reaction. It BUYS YOU TIME to get an anti-histamine into the bloodstream to actually stop the reaction. The epi only works to slow the reaction for 5 to 15 minutes. Anything you take by mouth will take a minimum of 20 – 30 minutes to get into the bloodstream, so taking Benedryl by mouth (even in liquid form) is less effective than getting it by IV or IM. Most ambulances also carry a steroid (often Solumedrol) that can shut the reaction down completely. So, if you or your hold are having a reaction severe enough to use an epi pen, immediately call 911, or if near a hospital, get to it the ER ASAP!
No, the treatment they received was completely different, it was more like slow immunization by adding trace allergens to their food. Thank you for the info on the epipen, and benadryl. I will be taking my daughter to an allergist for more specific info on when to administer it.
I have to say seeing this actually made me happy, not because of what happened to your daughter but because it has enlightened people that having a food allergy to certain categories doesn’t rule out specific ingredients. I had only a food allergy to strawberries since I was roughly 4 years old and last September 23rd, at the age of 28 I ate chicken ramen one Sunday evening. I, having other allergies and a nursing student knew that the burning of my hands and face less than 10 minutes later were not a good sign. I looked down to see I looked liked a lobster on my hands and arms. My lips began to tingle and swell. Instantly I ran for the benadryl and called my PCP who luckily was my uncle since I only changed doctors the month before when my NP retired. I met him at his office minutes later for an injection of solu-Medrol, intramuscularly. I reacted to the MSG from the chicken ramen. Seven days later I was back in his office for another injection. I had avoided all MSG and had a home made pizza using Ragu All Natural Home style pizza sauce. Well we were baffled. After some research, I found out the natural flavoring and spices were hidden ingredients of MSG. Along with over 40 other ingredients. That is when my life changed completely. Zyrtec every morning, benadryl every night per my first allergist and Epi Pens if need be. Organic, All Natural, Gluten Free foods all have hidden ingredients. Slow cooked meat was out of the picture…..goodbye a traditional Thanksgiving, Christmas, St. Patrick’s Day or Easter dinner for me. Medications, hair products and even some vaccines have the ingredients.
I gave up 90% of the things I ate at least. Anaphylaxis happens in 1% of all adults with this allergy since they are ones who have a true allergy to it not an intolerance. Some doctors say it is not an allergy but an excitotoxin….then again all allergies cause mast and IgE cells to create the reaction. It is an excitotoxin to some doctors because Glutamic acid is natural in our body but I bet those doctors never had t0 anphylactic shock start to kick in either when they ingested any form of it.
Packages can place MSG Free on the labels as long as monosodium glutamate is non in the ingredients. Unfortunately those of us with true allergies need to know labels, individual ingredients and then some. I scare my servers every time I go out to eat and ask about their food. They get their managers all the time which I prefer then I know I can get answers.
I am glad that you have shed light on ingredients that can contain an allergen so Thank You!
Brigid, I am so sorry to hear of your allergy experience…that is truly terrible to have so many allergies and to such widely used ingredients! Thank you for your explanation as I’m sure others will read it and learn more, too. Good luck to you and I appreciate your kind words. CC
How utterly terrifying! I will be posting about this on my allergy blog, too, and appreciate the education. My son’s allergic to peanuts and many other nuts, and I had absolutely no idea about the connection. Thanks for posting!
Thank you for spreading the word, Alex! It’s the best we can do at this point! CC
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3512604/
Thank you so much, Melissa!
Thank you immensely for this information. My daughter also has a life-threatening allergy to cashews. I am so thankful to be aware of this potential threat. I agree, most people do not understand the severity of a true allergy, or the fear with which we mothers live.
So happy that you got this info, Wendy, and I agree wholeheartedly with your comment. Good luck to your daughter and a wish her a nut-free future. CC
sounds like your daughter is another case report – consider discussing her case with her doctor to publish (will help advance knowledge in the scientific community about this). there is only 1 published case report on this out there that I could find.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3512604/
Wow, that’s unbelievable that there is only one published report. Thank you, Caroline, I will look into it. CC