The major peanut allergen is not resistant to cleaning products

The peanut-allergic people and their parents can be reassured that the risk of environmental exposure to this substance: most maintenance and hygiene products can eliminate the major peanut allergen, the results indicate a U.S. study published in the "Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology."

People who are allergic to peanuts may have a serious allergic reaction, skin manifestations (urticaria, eczema), respiratory (cough, asthma attack), gastrointestinal (vomiting, diarrhea), sometimes up to anaphylactic shock requiring urgent administration of adrenaline, even after exposure to small amounts of allergen.

These dangerous reactions can also be induced by inhalation or handling of products containing peanut particles, the strict avoidance of the allergen diet is not based on food-related precautions.

This is why Dr. Tamara Perry and colleagues from Johns Hopkins Children's Center have sought to detect the presence of the allergen in the environment, assessing the effectiveness of parallel common household cleaners on disposal.

They then determined the level of contamination of tables canteens and various surfaces in schools and kindergartens, the amount of persistent allergen after a person washes his hands, and the presence of peanut particles in the air when a person eats peanuts. An ELISA immunoassay allowed them to quantify the footsteps of the most common allergen in peanut Ara h 1.

No residue of this allergen has been detected on the hands of 19 participants (non-allergic adult volunteers) who had washed their hands using soap, liquid soap or wipes. A low rate of Ara h 1 was detected on the hands of three of the twelve people being washed their hands with tap water and six of the twelve people who have used alcohol-based hand sanitizer.

Current cleaning products have eliminated the peanut allergen table surfaces, except the detergent, wherein the traces could be detected in four of the twelve tables tested.

But according to Dr. Robert Wood, one of the authors of this study, pediatric allergist, the amount of allergen detected in this situation would be insufficient to induce an allergic reaction, even if "an allergic child vigorously licked the table."

As for the evaluation of the contamination of other surfaces in schools, it revealed the presence of allergen at a drinking fountain on the thirteen tested, while none of the offices (about 22 tested) and none of the mess tables (out of 36 tested) did not provide a positive result for the Ara h 1 presence test.

Finally, simulation of situations of "real life" has demonstrated the absence of peanut allergen in the air after the participants have eaten peanut butter sandwiches or roasted peanuts (whether or not possessing the shell) or after they crushed peanuts on the floor.

So it seems that, because of its low resistance to cleaning products and the most current health, the presence of major peanut allergen is relatively rare in nurseries and schools, the authors note.

However, the problem with dietary exposure to peanut is far from negligible, because of its ubiquity in the products of the food industry (peanut oil, peanut butter and seeds, but also sometimes biscuits, confectionery and prepared food labeled "vegetable oil" without further details). This allergen is also used in the composition of certain drugs or cosmetics, and can lead to cross-reactions with many dry nuts.

Moreover, unlike allergy to milk and egg (the most common of the child, before the peanut allergies), the peanut allergy persists more generally, which is to it the first food allergy teens and adults.