This document is part of the ACI Diet Specifications for Adult Inpatients. It is not to be used for patient education.
Aim
To provide a diet that excludes all capsicum and chilli.
Characteristics
Avoids all foods containing capsicum (bell peppers) and members of the capsicum family, including chillies (jalapeños, red and green chillies), and their derivative products (e.g. cayenne pepper) in all forms including fresh, dried, concentrated and powdered. This includes paprika, paprika oleoresin and paprika extract.
Indications
Allergy, intolerance or dislike to capsicum and members of the capsicum family.
Nutritional adequacy
Nutritionally adequate. Nutritionally adequate diets can provide sufficient nutrition to patients without the need for supplementation.
Precautions
- It is not possible to provide a full list of all permitted commercial products; the following are general guidelines only. Care should be taken to read all product ingredient lists to look for capsicum in ingredient list.
- Clarification is required for foods that contain compound ingredients (e.g. vegetable powders) to determine their components.
- Patients with a capsicum allergy may also need to avoid other vegetables from the Solanacea family such as potato, eggplant and tomato.
Paediatrics
Suitable for use in paediatrics when combined with an age-appropriate diet.
Specific menu planning guidelines
Remove all food items containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli.
| Food type | Allowed | Examples of food items not allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Hot main dishes | All others | Dishes made with capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Sauces, gravies | All others | Sauces containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives, e.g. Tabasco, sweet chilli sauce |
| Starchy vegetables / pasta / rice | All others | Starch-based dishes containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Vegetables | All others | Capsicum, paprika or chilli and their derivatives |
| Soups | All others | Soups containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Sandwiches | All others | Capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Salads, dressings | All other salad ingredients All other salad dressings | Capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives Salad dressings with capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Breads, cereals | All others | Savoury breads or muffins with capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Spreads | All | - |
| Hot breakfast choices | All others | Items containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives, e.g. Spanish omelette |
| Fruit | All | - |
| Yoghurt | All | - |
| Desserts | All | - |
| Milk and cheese | All | - |
| Drinks | All | Vegetable juice containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli and their derivatives |
| Biscuits | All others | Biscuits with capsicum, paprika and/or chilli derivatives e.g. some flavoured crackers |
| Miscellaneous | All other herbs and spices, vinegar, lemon wedge Salt and pepper# Nuts Cream | Paprika, cayenne pepper Chutneys and pickles including capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives |
# Note: Members of the capsicum family may also be referred to as ‘peppers’ by some cultures. However the pepper derived from black peppercorns (Piper nigrum) is not related to the capsicum family.
References
- Department of Environment and Primary Industries. Capsicum (peppers) and chillies (1997, updated 2013).
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit. RPAH Elimination diet handbook. Sydney: RPAH; 2010
Change log
| Change date | Section updated | Change |
|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Characteristics | Updated to include examples and alternate name |
Menu planning guidelines | Added introduction to specify that items containing capsicum, paprika and/or chilli to be removed Added paprika to examples of food items not allowed Updated table headings | |
| General language | Updated to be consistent with ACI writing style guide |