Allergy diet - nut free
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 eliminates peanuts (ground nuts), tree nuts and their products.
Characteristics
Avoids all nuts, nut products and traces, including peanuts (also known as groundnuts), cashews, walnuts, pecans, almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts, pistachios and pine nuts.
Does not exclude coconut.
Indications
Nut allergy.
Nutritional adequacy
Nutritionally adequate.
Precautions
Reactions to nuts can be severe; the labels of all packaged products must be checked carefully. Nut oils (eg peanut, walnut or macadamia oils) should not be used for cooking or in salad dressings. Products with advisory statements that they may contain traces of nuts, or are manufactured on the same line as products containing peanuts, are not suitable. All packaged food with nut ingredients must carry a mandatory warning statement under Standard 1.2.3 of the Food Standards Code and should therefore be able to be identified on food labels. Particular care is needed in food handling and preparation to avoid cross-contamination.
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, including plain cooked beef, lamb, pork, poultry and fish | Any dishes including nuts (e.g. satays, chicken and cashews), or made with peanut oil, pesto or nutmeat |
| Sauces, gravies | Other sauces – check labels | Satay sauce, other nut sauces |
| Starchy vegetables / pasta / rice | All | |
| Vegetables | All | |
| Soups | Other soups – check labels | Asian soups with peanuts or peanut oil |
| Sandwiches | All others | Peanut or cashew butter |
| Salads, dressings | Others – check labels | Any with nuts (e.g. waldorf salad) or nut oils (e.g. peanut, walnut, hazelnut oil) |
| Breads, cereals | All nut-free breads Rice, oats, pasta and noodles Nut-free muesli and most other breakfast cereals | Walnut bread Breakfast cereals with nuts (e.g. Crunchy Nut Corn Flakes®, Sustain®, Nut Feast®, some mueslis) |
| Spreads | Butter, margarine, jam, honey | Peanut or cashew butter Nutella® |
| Hot breakfast choices | All | |
| Fruit | All – check labels | |
| Yoghurt | All – check labels | |
| Desserts | All other desserts, including custards, ice-cream, jelly, nut-free cakes and puddings | Desserts containing nuts (e.g. fruit crumble with nuts, carrot or almond cake, pecan pie, praline, baklava) |
| Milk and cheese | All | |
| Beverages | All | |
| Biscuits | Other nut-free biscuits | Any with nut ingredients (e.g. butternut) |
| Miscellaneous | Seeds – unless allergic Coconut | Chocolate |
References
- Dietitians Association of Australia. Nutrition manual. 8th ed. Canberra: DAA; 2009.
- Australasian Society of Clinical Immunology and Allergy. Peanut, tree nut and seed allergy.
- Royal Prince Alfred Hospital Allergy Unit. Allergy information sheets.
- American Dietetic Association. Nutrition care manual. Chicago: ADA; 2009.
- Anaphylaxis Australia. Allergen cards. 2007.
- Maher AK, editor; Iowa Dietetic Association. Simplified diet manual. 10th ed. Ames: Blackwell; 2007.