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
Hello – Just wnated to thank you for this info – I happened to have a sample of a pepper covered goat cheese and had what felt like an allergic reaction. I am allergic to tree nuts and peanuts. I read the label and saw no nuts mentioned or any other allergy warning. I googled pepper and nut allergy and found this – I’m planning to reach out to the manufacturer. Thanks again for putting this out there!!
Oh dear! That’s terrible that it was on pepper coated goat cheese! Glad you’re okay and thank you for contacting the manufacturer. I hope they add a warning label. Let me know if you have any luck. CC
I’m glad this is now getting coverage. I also had an anaphalyaxis to pink peppercorns a couple years ago – the doctors were rather baffled, but I looked around and found the link also as I am highly allergic to cashews and pistachios.
Worth mentioning to all those allergic to Tree nuts/pink peppercorns. SUMAC (spice – used in middle eastern food, and becoming increasingly popular in UK supermarkets and restaurants) is part of the same family.
I asked my allergist to include this in my prick test, and had a huge histamine reaction to it – so AVOID THE SUMAC SPICE IF ALLERGIC TO TREE NUTS/PINK PEPPERCORNS. I was told by my allergist to try and avoid travel to middle eastern countries as a result (sadly..).
Thanks,
Grace
Yes, Grace-you are right about the sumac and I have told my daughter to avoid it, but it concerns me that it is becoming more popular recently. So sorry to hear that your allergist said you should avoid travel to middle eastern countries; allergies are so unfair on so many levels and in so many ways! Thank you for commenting and sharing the info as others will read this and hopefully the word will continue to spread. Take care, CC
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Hi Christine, I read your warning about pink peppercorns too late! Fortunately my 18 year old daughter is recovering after being admitted to hospital yesterday after eating a pasta dish that I cooked with a KRAFT PHILADELPHIA SIMPLY STIR CREAMY PEPPERCORN COOKING SAUCE. There was no warning on the packaging. I have written to the UK office of Mondelez in Uxbridge as they need to change their packaging, I’m yet to hear back. My daughter was diagnosed with a tree nut allergy at the age of 6, she carries an epi pen but hasn’t had to use it so far. This is the third time we have been to hospital, the first was pistachio nuts, then cashew at the age of 8. She has been so careful but this was such a scare as we couldn’t fathom out what had caused it until we did some research last night and came across your blog.
Good luck with your trip to Scotland, shame we are on holiday in USA otherwise we would have visited you at BBC food show!
Regards, Ann from Aberdeen, Scotland
Oh dear, Ann! I’m so sorry to hear that your daughter had to go through another hospital stay! I hope the information about pink peppercorns spreads quickly as it is extremely scary to know that they are related to nuts, yet even large companies like Kraft do not know about it. Good luck with getting them to label it and please let me know if there’s anything I can do! Have a lovely trip in the US and sorry I’ll miss you at the show. CC
Good article, except for one thing… If you even suspect your child might have eaten something nut-related, give the EpiPen right anyway. It’s okay to given an EpiPen and be wrong (in our case, it means a hyper child for about 15 minutes) but to not use it immediately and be too late is far riskier.
Hi Marge, you are not the first person to give this advice, and it sounds as though you’ve given the EpiPen before. It also sounds as though you didn’t go to the hospital afterwards (saying the aftereffect is a hyper child), but my understanding is that as soon as you administer the EpiPen, you must go directly to ER. I understand as I’ve read where the EpiPen was given too late in certain circumstances, which is so scary.
My son is almost 23 and since we found out he was allergic to tree nuts at age two, we’ve had to make the EpiPen decision throughout elementary and middle school, High School, and even into college. What I’ve found is that you really need to teach your child to read every label, and to use the EpiPen right away if you suspect nut ingestion. As they get older, kids get in a hurry and mistakes happen. In High School, he returned to a group dinner after a sporting event, and trusted his friends to tell him that the “nut and non-nut desserts had been separated.” But, he was one of the last to eat, and as the kitchen staff was cleaning up, they combined all of the dessert items. As a result, he grabbed the wrong one and took a bite of a cupcake with peanut butter frosting. He knew right away. He has also developed other food allergies and once, while in a hurry between classes during his first year of college, he grabbed the “gluten-free” bag lunch only to find out the bread had nuts in it. Again, he could tell right away and self-administered the EpiPen. And yes, after every one of these episodes, he went to the Emergency Room to get a shot of Benedryl and, in some cases, more epinephrine. (That rush to grab a quick lunch cost him three hours in an emergency room). He recently graduated and has taken a job on the other end of the country. At this point, not only are his eating and label-reading habits well in place, but all of his close friends are aware of his food allergies and most know where his EpiPens are stored as well.
I can totally see how these things happen, and glad he’s a pro now! My daughter has never used the EpiPen yet and I’m afraid that she might be afraid to use it, which terrifies me. I’m going to have her read your comment as hopefully every little bit of information will help her to be more careful. She has never not read a label, it’s usually eating something which is labeled as nut-free, but isn’t. Thank you for your comment, every bit of information helps. CC
Just found this article and I will share. I agree 100% with your statement about throwing the word “allergy” around. I admit I use to say it all the time, “I cant have mushrooms, I am allergic.” then one day I was dining at a Fairmont hotel and the CHEF actually came to our table to find out, exactly what my allergy was. And what can he do, to ensure I have a fabulous dinner. I felt awful after that. Since becoming a mom and now a mom of an elementary student, I advocate for NUT allergies on a daily basis. We don’t have a single allergy in our family, or our extended family, so it was important for me to become aware and educated. Sadly, it is still a loose term and many parents and teachers don’t take it seriously enough.
Thank you for your thoughtful comment, Jess. Yes, part of the problem is just people’s ignorance (and I mean that in the literal way, that they simply do not know) about allergies. I agree, too many people don’t take it seriously enough. In fact, when we’d have swimming potlucks at my daughter’s school, I’d try to talk to the athletic director about my daughter’s allergies to ask about nuts in particular, but she wasn’t interested and basically gave me an “I’m too busy to deal with this” attitude, which is pretty sad. I’d have to bring my daughter her own snacks and meals to ensure her safety. Hope things begin to change for the better, and soon!
I shared this on Facebook. Though we don’t have a family member with a severe allergy, my daughter has celiac disease and I struggle with people understanding that she can’t have any gluten. No, she won’t go into anaphylactic shock, but eating gluten can make her ill and long-term exposure can lead to life-threatening health conditions. As a nurse, I was never dismissive of allergies; but having a child with celiac made me even more sensitive to the issue. Thank you for sharing this information!
Thank you so much for sharing the info, Lynann, you never know who it could help save from a reaction or worse. Good luck to your daughter, I know it’s different, but it’s still a difficulty. CC
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