Pink peppercorns are dried berries harvested from a plant in the Anacardiaceae family of plants. Other plants in this family include cashew nuts, mango and pistachios. This is definitely a food of note for people with severe tree nut allergies to cashew or pistachios.

Note that pink peppercorns are from a different family of plants to black pepper, which is the same plant as green, white and red peppercorns. Pink peppercorns are sometimes added to pepper blends (with different coloured peppercorns), which should be noted by those with severe tree nut allergies.

The pollen from the Pepper tree is allergenic and can cause allergic rhinitis and worsening of asthma symptoms in some people.

When looking at cross reactivity studies have shown that pink peppercorns contain 2S seed storage proteins and 11S seed storage proteins. This potentially makes them cross reactive with other tree nut and peanut allergens.

Pink peppercorns are a low FODMAP food, especially when eaten in small amounts. FODMAP stands for Fermentable oligosaccharides, disaccharides, monosaccharides and polyols. Foods high in FODMAPs can cause symptoms of food intolerance, affecting the gastro intestinal system and this can be mistaken for a true IgE food allergy.

You can read more about Food Intolerances on the dedicated Food Intolerance Page.

Pink peppercorn is not currently associated with any allergic syndromes.

If you are allergic to pink peppercorns you may want to be cautious around other closely related foods in the Anacardiaceae family of plants, which includes cashew nuts, mango and pistachios.

Other foods which contain 2S seed storage proteins include tree nuts, peanuts, buckwheat, chickpeas, fenugreek, flaxseed, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and quinoa.

Foods containing 11S seed storage proteins not mentioned above include amaranth, kiwi, mustard and soya beans.

Note these food lists are not exhaustive. The most up to date food lists for all allergens are on the Cross Reactivity Tool. Click below to find out more.

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