When someone has a nut allergy, this usually lasts all their life. The nuts that are most likely to cause allergic reactions are walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, pecans, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts and cashew nuts. On rare occasions, all these nuts can cause anaphylaxis in people who are sensitive.
Sometimes people with an allergy to one type of nut will also react to other nuts. If you have a nut allergy, you need to be very careful to avoid nuts and unrefined (crude) nut oil. Talk to your GP or another health professional for advice.
Since November 2005, food labelling rules require pre-packed food sold in the UK, and the rest of the European Union, to show clearly on the label if it contains nuts (or if one of its ingredients contains them). Bear in mind that there could still be foods on the shelves that were produced before this date.
Strictly speaking, peanuts are legumes, not nuts, and they grow underground, whereas nuts grow on trees. See the section on peanut allergy.
