Peanut oil

Peanut oil is often used in cooking, because it has a mild flavour and burns only at a relatively high temperature. It is also known as groundnut, arachis, or arachide oil.

Some people believe that the processes used in the production of groundnut oil make it less dangerous, or even benign, to peanut allergy sufferers than unprocessed nuts. Nonetheless, most sufferers avoid it.

Arachis oil is used in many products, such as food, and creams. There was a scare in the media a few years ago that the rise in nut allergies, especially peanut allergies, might be attributable to the common use of the oil in nipple creams, sensitising babies when their immune systems were weak. However, there was no evidence to back it up, and this wouldn't account for the rise coinciding with a rise in asthma and other allergies. It is generally accepted that these products are not a risk unless you have a history of allergies.