Allergy diet - no capsicum / chilli

Aim

To provide a diet that strictly excludes all capsicum.

Characteristics

Avoids all foods containing capsicum and members of the capsicum family, including chillies, and their derivative products 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.

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

	Allowed	Not allowed
Hot main dishes	All others	Dishes made with capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives
Sauces, gravies	All others	Sauces containing capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives e.g. Tabasco, sweet chilli sauce
Starchy vegetables / pasta / rice	All others	Starch-based dishes containing capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives
Vegetables	All others	Capsicum or chilli and their derivatives
Soups	All others	Soups containing capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives
Sandwiches	All others	Capsicum 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 and/or chilli and their derivatives
Breads, cereals	All others	Savoury breads or muffins with capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives
Spreads	All	-
Hot breakfast choices	All others	Items containing capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives (e.g. Spanish omelette)
Fruit	All	-
Yoghurt	All	-
Desserts	All	-
Milk and cheese	All	-
Beverages	All	Vegetable juice containing capsicum and/or chilli and their derivatives
Biscuits	All others	Biscuits with capsicum and/or chilli derivatives e.g. some flavoured crackers
Miscellaneous	All other herbs and spices, vinegar, lemon wedge Salt and pepper# Nuts Cream	Paprika 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

1. Department of Environment and Primary Industries. Capsicum (peppers) and chillies (1997, updated 2013).
2. Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit. RPAH Elimination diet handbook. Sydney: RPAH; 2010

Change log

October 2020

Section updated	Change
Title of Specification	Title changed from Allergy diet - No Capsicum (Strict) to Allergy diet - no capsicum/chilli
Characteristics	Added This includes paprika, paprika oleoresin and paprika extract