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Peanuts
Peanuts is entry 5 of the fourteen substances Annex II of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 makes declarable. IgE-mediated food allergy — severe storage-protein type, or mild birch-pollen-related type. Where it hides, which exemptions apply, and what it cross-reacts with.
This is reference information, not a diagnosis and not a treatment plan. A pollen calendar cannot tell you what you are allergic to, and no page can clear a food as safe for you — only the label on the packet in your hand and the clinician who knows your history can do that. Anything beyond mild, short-lived symptoms in the mouth or nose — swelling that affects breathing or swallowing, hives away from the mouth, wheeze, vomiting or faintness — is an emergency question, not a reading question.
What the law says
Annex II, entry 5: “Peanuts and products thereof”
That wording carries the whole obligation. The substance must be declared whenever it is used in the making of a food and is still present in the finished product, even in an altered form, and it must be picked out inside the ingredient list by typeset — bold, capitals, italics, underlining or a contrasting colour. There is no legal requirement for a separate allergen box, so the ingredient list is where to look.
Source: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II and Article 21 · checked 2026-09-06
What the reaction actually is
A peanut is a legume, not a nut, and peanut allergy comes in two clinically different shapes. The severe form is driven by heat-stable storage proteins, above all Ara h 2, and can cause anaphylaxis to a trace. The mild form is driven by Ara h 8, a birch-pollen-related PR-10 protein, and causes an itchy mouth in someone whose real sensitisation is to birch. Telling them apart is a molecular test question and it changes everything about how the person lives.
Who gets it, and does it last
Storage-protein peanut allergy usually begins in early childhood and persists; a minority outgrow it. It is one of the leading causes of fatal and near-fatal food anaphylaxis in Europe. Peanut-allergic people are typically prescribed adrenaline autoinjectors and an emergency plan.
Where it hides
- Satay and other South-East Asian sauces
- Some chilli and mole sauces as a thickener
- Cereal bars, cakes and biscuits
- Vegetarian mince and meat substitutes
- Ice cream and confectionery
- Cold-pressed (unrefined) peanut oil
In birch country the mild birch-related form is disproportionately common, and it is worth knowing that a positive peanut test in an adult with hay fever is not automatically the severe form. That distinction is exactly what component testing is for, and it is a conversation with an allergist.
Cross-reactions
Peanut cross-reacts with lupin, which is why lupin has its own place on the list. Cross-reactivity with tree nuts exists but is inconsistent; many peanut-allergic people tolerate tree nuts and vice versa, and the two are tested and managed separately.
The labelling detail
Peanut is entry 5 with no exemptions. Highly refined peanut oil contains very little protein and is not exempt in EU law, so it is declared. Precautionary "may contain peanut" wording is voluntary and unregulated — it is a manufacturer's risk statement, not a legal grade.
Exemptions: none. Entry 5 has no carve-outs at all, so there is no processed fraction of it that escapes the label.
Precautionary wording — “may contain”, “made in a factory that also handles” — is a separate matter: it is voluntary, unstandardised and carries no threshold. How strictly to treat it is a clinical decision, not a reading of the label. The labelling explainer sets out the whole frame, including what happens in restaurants and bakeries where there is no pack at all.
What gets misread
A childhood peanut result is often carried into adult life untested. Sensitisation shown on a test is not the same as a clinical allergy, and neither confirming nor dropping a peanut avoidance should be done without a clinician — the risk runs in both directions.
Sources: Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II · Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 (gluten claims) · WHO/IUIS Allergen Nomenclature · season windows from the national aerobiology monitoring programmes of Estonia, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Norway · cross-reaction patterns paraphrased from the allergy literature and EAACI material · checked 2026-09-06
Frequently asked questions
Is peanuts one of the fourteen EU allergens?
Yes, entry 5. The Regulation words it as: Peanuts and products thereof. It must be declared and emphasised in the ingredient list of any food sold in the EU that contains it.
Where does peanuts hide?
The routine unexpected sources are satay and other south-east asian sauces; some chilli and mole sauces as a thickener; cereal bars, cakes and biscuits; vegetarian mince and meat substitutes; ice cream and confectionery; cold-pressed (unrefined) peanut oil. This is what makes the ingredient list, rather than the name of the dish, the thing to read.
Are there any labelling exemptions for peanuts?
No. Entry 5 carries no exemptions, so any peanuts-derived ingredient is declarable however small the amount.
What does peanuts cross-react with?
Peanut cross-reacts with lupin, which is why lupin has its own place on the list. Cross-reactivity with tree nuts exists but is inconsistent; many peanut-allergic people tolerate tree nuts and vice versa, and the two are tested and managed separately.
Cereals containing gluten
Coeliac disease (autoimmune), wheat allergy (IgE) and non-coeliac wheat sensitivity — three different conditions under one entry.
Crustaceans
IgE-mediated food allergy, mainly to tropomyosin.
Eggs
IgE-mediated food allergy.
Fish
IgE-mediated food allergy, mainly to parvalbumin.
Soybeans
IgE-mediated food allergy — primary, or birch-pollen-related through Gly m 4.
Foods by diet and allergen
The food database filtered by written rules. A way to explore, never an allergen clearance.
Keep the log, spot the pattern
When a reaction is hard to pin down, a food and symptom log across weeks is worth more than any single meal you can remember. TempoLife keeps both in one place.