PSA: Cleaning for Peanut Allergies

Those who suffer from food allergies know they're no joke. Food allergies result when normally harmless proteins (allergens) in food cause the immune system to react as though they're harmful. The immune system triggers allergic responses. They can be mild (an itchy mouth or hives) to dangerous and life-threatening. 1

Some of the more common and dangerous allergies are peanut or tree nut allergies. This is why warnings about these are standard, from signs in fast food windows to messaging on snack food packages. And it's affecting more and more people. Between 1997 and 2008, peanut and tree nut allergies tripled in children from the United States.1  

You can clean to help lessen the risk of an allergic reaction to nuts.  

Clean Before and After  

According to Wade Watson et al., "Common cleaning agents can easily remove peanut allergen from surfaces such as tabletops." 2 So, the key here is to clean before and after the person with the nut allergy eats. That's because allergens can persist on surfaces until they are cleaned away. The cleaning product you use should contain surfactants that cut through grease to clean the allergens away effectively.  

1. FARE. (2020). “Facts & Statistics.” FoodAllergy.org. Retrieved from https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/facts-and-statistics 
2. Watson, W.T.; Woodrow, A.; Stadnyk, A.W. (2013). “Persistence of Peanut Allergen on a Table Surface.” Allergy Asthma Clinical Immunology 2013, 9 (1), 7.