Qondio
Front
Intel
IntelMart
Shares
My Qondio
Account
stravaig > Intel > Warning! Packet of Nuts Contains Peanuts

qondio.com/p0C2 PRINT EMAIL

Warning! Packet of Nuts Contains Peanuts

I found this on the Food Standards Agency website recently:

"Food Standards Agency
ASDA RECALLS WHOLEFOODS ORGANIC ROASTED MIXED NUTS
Asda has recalled its Wholefoods Organic Roasted Mixed Nuts (200g) because the product contains peanuts, which are not mentioned on the product label. This means the product is a possible health risk for individuals with an allergy to peanuts. The Agency has issued an Allergy Alert."

Hmm, I thought. Is this yet another one of those silly cases where Nanny’s making a company spell out the bleedin’ obvious to us?

You know the sort of thing: woman successfully sues fast food company for getting scalded because she didn’t know her coffee was going to be hot. So every fast food company adds warning labels to their coffee cups on the CYA principle.

A couple of years ago we bought a bag of nuts from some supermarket chain or other and were surprised to see the words “Contains nuts” on the packet. What should he have expected it to contain? Marshmallows? Iron filings? Pixie snot?

I’m all in favour of consumers not being kept in the dark about what they’re buying. Having spent several years living in South Asia and buying spices in the local markets, I’m all too familiar with adulterated goods. (Fancy some brick dust in your chilli powder, anyone?) And I can see why someone with an allergy might want to be sure that the ready meal they’re eyeing up in Waitrose doesn’t contain an ingredient that will make it the last meal they ever eat.

But for heaven’s sake, shouldn’t there be limits to how much we let Nanny take responsibility for our lives? If someone’s so thick that they don’t realise that a bag of nuts contains nuts, it sounds to me as if we ought to let natural selection have free rein.

Anyway, back to the Asda alert. A quick bit of research showed that in fact this isn’t one of those cases. It turns out that peanuts aren’t nuts at all. They’re actually legumes - like peas, lentils and, for the horticulturally inclined, lupins. And it’s perfectly possible that someone with a peanut allergy isn’t allergic to true nuts, and vice versa.

So if you’re planning to cook for guests, and you know one of your guests has a nut allergy, you may still be able to use your favourite peanut oil. But better check first, eh?


Contributor's Note

This intel has been adapted from a piece I originally wrote for my food blog: http://www.notdelia.co.uk

External Links

http://www.notdelia.co.uk/warning-packet-of-nuts-contains-peanuts/ | http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2008/jul/peanuts

Contributed by stravaig on September 3, 2008, at 3:08 AM UTC.

PLEASE VISIT THE CONTRIBUTOR'S WEBSITE
Food, glorious food... and drink
A foodie blog - everything about food
www.notdelia.co.uk

Reactions

No reactions yet.

Rate This Intel

Please login or sign up to rate this intel.

Comments

Please login or sign up to add a comment.

Share

Copyright Notice

The copyright for this content entitled "Warning! Packet of Nuts Contains Peanuts" has been specified by the contributor as:

All Rights Reserved

This content may not be copied, distributed or adapted by anyone under any circumstances.

Login Here with
Any Email Address
Any Password
No account? Sign up.

Intel Contributor
This intel was contributed by stravaig


Qondio Archive
May, 2012
123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031


2008
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2009
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2010
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2011
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2012
January, February, March, April, May

Sign Up
Not a member yet? Qondio is a powerful network for making it online. If you have a website to promote, we can help. Sign up and get in on the action.

About Qondio
Welcome to Qondio! Discover the awesome power this network can deliver by going to our About page. Or you could skip straight to the Sign Up form.

ABOUT
SUCCESS GUIDE
FEATURES
FAQ
ADVERTISE
CONTACT
USAGE POLICY
PRIVACY POLICY


TWITTER
FACEBOOK