Peanut in Canada: label rules and introduction guidance

Is peanut on Canada's priority food allergen list?

Peanuts are a priority allergen in Canada, and Health Canada notes that peanut is a legume, not a tree nut, so the two are declared separately. Older names such as arachis oil, ground nuts or goober peas are no longer allowed on a label unless the word peanut also appears. Peanut must be declared in the list of ingredients or in a 'Contains' statement immediately after it, and any 'may contain peanut' line must sit in that same place.

Canada's priority food allergens are eggs, milk, mustard, peanuts, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, sesame seeds, soy, sulphites, tree nuts, and wheat and triticale. Under the enhanced labelling rules published in 2011, a prepackaged food must name each one by its common name in the list of ingredients or in a statement beginning with 'Contains'. Gluten sources (barley, oats, rye, triticale and wheat) are declared the same way. 'May contain' statements are voluntary, cannot be used when an allergen is added on purpose, and must follow the ingredients or 'Contains' statement.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Food allergies and allergen labelling
• Health Canada: Common food allergens
• Health Canada: Peanuts, a priority food allergen

What CPS guidance says about introducing peanut

The CPS practice point notes moderate-certainty evidence, from a meta-analysis, that early peanut introduction between 4 and 11 months reduced peanut allergy, and it describes the LEAP trial of high-risk infants in the UK. For practical forms, it says smooth peanut butter can be diluted with water or mixed with a previously tolerated puréed fruit or vegetable, or with breast milk, for young infants, and spread lightly on a thin toast crust, or offered as a peanut puff product, for older infants. If peanut seems tolerated, the CPS advises offering it a few times a week. If there is a reaction, it advises talking to your primary care provider.

In Canada, allergen introduction guidance comes from the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). Its practice point for infants at high risk (2019, updated 2020) defines high risk as a personal history of eczema or other atopy, or a parent or sibling with an allergic condition. For those babies it recommends considering common allergenic solids at around 6 months but not before 4 months, guided by developmental readiness; for babies at low or no risk, it recommends complementary foods at about 6 months.

• Canadian Paediatric Society: Timing of introduction of allergenic solids for infants at high risk

Logging peanut in the app

The app's region picker has no Canada option yet. The US schedule covers all nine allergens in these guides, and Canadian priority allergens outside it, such as mustard, can be added as foods in the diary. In the schedule, peanut appears as Peanut. Each allergen entry moves from not started to introduced, cleared or reaction, and the 14-day window keeps new foods spaced out so a delayed reaction is easier to match to a food. Note the form you offered, such as thinned smooth peanut butter or peanut powder, so later offerings are easy to compare. If you see a symptom, log it with its severity; the paediatrician report gathers the dates into one PDF for your next appointment. It is a record for you and your doctor, not a diagnosis.