Is a peanut allergy the same as a tree nut allergy?

No. The FDA names peanuts and tree nuts as separate major food allergens, and its tree nut table does not include peanut. Some people react to both groups, so ask your doctor which applies to you and ask the kitchen about each one.

Do menus have to label peanuts the way packages do?

The FDA says the federal labeling requirements cover foods a food service business packages and offers for sale, but not food placed in a container in response to a customer order. A plated dish is not a package, so you have to ask the kitchen.

What does the FDA say about peanut oil?

For packaged food, the FDA guidance says highly refined oils from a major allergen are exempt from allergen labeling, yet the oil source still appears in the ingredient list. An oil that is not highly refined must declare its source. It is a package rule, so still ask which oil the kitchen uses.

What should I say to the kitchen?

Say the allergy plainly before you order, then ask how the dish is made. Ask about sauces, oil, shared fryers and toppings, and wait for the cook to be checked with. A vague answer is a reason to pick another dish.

How can I keep track of peanut answers and share them with friends?

Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing dishes. Rate each dish with a note about what the kitchen told you, add a tag as one diner's note, follow friends who eat the way you do and share a list with them.

How to

Peanut Allergy When Eating Out: Sauces, Oils and Asking

Mosey · November 11, 2026 · 5 min read

Peanut allergy when eating out comes down to three habits: know where peanuts turn up, ask how each dish is made and never treat a menu as the full story. Peanuts are one of nine major food allergens named by the FDA, and a plate served in a dining room is not labeled the way a package is.

Your own doctor decides what is right for you, and a clear question at the start of the meal does the rest.

How is peanut allergy when eating out different from a tree nut allergy?

The FDA lists peanuts and tree nuts as two separate major food allergens. Its table names almond, black walnut, Brazil nut, California walnut, cashew, filbert or hazelnut, heartnut, macadamia, pecan, pine nut, pistachio and English walnut. Peanut is not on that table.

Some people react to both groups and some to only one, so a menu line that says "nuts" is too vague to act on. Ask which one the kitchen means, and whether the dish holds either. The guide to the other group covers the other group.

Where does peanut sauce hide on a menu?

Peanut sauce is the obvious one, and it is easy to meet in a dish that does not sound like it. These are general patterns in cooking, so each one needs a question rather than an assumption.

Satay and other skewers, which are often served with a peanut dipping sauce.
Noodle dishes in Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese kitchens, where crushed peanuts may be a topping or part of the sauce.
West African groundnut stews, which are built on ground peanuts.
Some Mexican moles and other thick sauces, where nuts or seeds can be a thickener.
Dressings, marinades and chili oils made in house, where a spoonful of peanut butter may do the thickening.

Ask what is in the sauce, not only whether the dish is "spicy". A server who says "I will check with the cook" is giving you the right answer. A server who says "I think it is fine" is not.

What should you ask about peanut oil?

Peanut oil is a common frying and stir-fry oil, so it deserves its own question. The FDA's labeling guidance for packaged food says that highly refined oils from a major allergen are exempt from allergen labeling, and that the source must still be part of the oil's name in the ingredient list, such as "peanut oil". An oil that is not highly refined must declare its source.

That is a rule about a package. It does not tell you which oil a kitchen uses, whether it is refined or what it means for your body. Ask the kitchen which oil it uses for your dish, and ask your doctor how to treat oil in particular.

What about sweets, baked goods and breakfast?

Peanuts travel well in the sweet part of a menu. Cookies, bars, granola, candy and ice cream toppings can all carry peanuts or peanut butter, and a shared scoop or shared tray can move traces between flavors. A bakery case is a place to ask about the tray as well as the recipe.

Breakfast has its own habits: spreads, trail mixes and cereal bars. If you are eating with children, say the allergy to the person at the counter, then repeat it to whoever hands over the order. Two clear sentences beat a long explanation.

How do you ask about cross-contact?

Cross-contact is when an allergen gets into a food through a shared pan, fryer, utensil or surface. For peanuts, the useful questions are short:

Do you cook this in a shared fryer or on a shared grill?
Is there a separate pan and clean utensil for my dish?
Are any sauces or toppings made in advance with peanuts?

The FDA says the federal labeling law does not address advisory statements such as "may contain", which are voluntary. So a menu that carries no such line tells you very little, and one with one is a prompt to ask. Write down what you were told, since kitchens change their habits.

How can Mosey help you keep peanut notes?

After a meal, rate the dish rather than only the place, and use the note to record what the kitchen said about the sauce or the oil. Tags are one diner's note on one visit: Nut-Free exists as a stored tag, and it is never a guarantee. Follow a friend who eats the way you do and you can see what they rated and saved.

The app can also hide dishes by allergen. When you pick peanuts, any dish whose place has listed peanuts for it is hidden, and a dish with nothing filled in stays on the screen marked as not listed. That filter works on a place's menu, on the Dishes page and in search, never on places themselves, and the choice stays on your phone. Not listed means the place has not said anything, so ask. See the ratings and lists pages.

What else covers eating out with allergies?

For the wider picture, see eating out with food allergies in the US, the fish allergy guide, the shellfish allergy guide for Providence and the US food guides.

Mosey costs a place nothing to list, hides no fees and offers affordable tools, which leaves a small kitchen more time for training and supports local business. A place can declare its allergens for each dish in its own dashboard.

Before your next meal out, get the Mosey app, rate the dish you ate and keep the answer the kitchen gave you.

Questions

Common questions

Is a peanut allergy the same as a tree nut allergy?
No. The FDA names peanuts and tree nuts as separate major food allergens, and its tree nut table does not include peanut. Some people react to both groups, so ask your doctor which applies to you and ask the kitchen about each one.
Do menus have to label peanuts the way packages do?
The FDA says the federal labeling requirements cover foods a food service business packages and offers for sale, but not food placed in a container in response to a customer order. A plated dish is not a package, so you have to ask the kitchen.
What does the FDA say about peanut oil?
For packaged food, the FDA guidance says highly refined oils from a major allergen are exempt from allergen labeling, yet the oil source still appears in the ingredient list. An oil that is not highly refined must declare its source. It is a package rule, so still ask which oil the kitchen uses.
What should I say to the kitchen?
Say the allergy plainly before you order, then ask how the dish is made. Ask about sauces, oil, shared fryers and toppings, and wait for the cook to be checked with. A vague answer is a reason to pick another dish.
How can I keep track of peanut answers and share them with friends?
Mosey is a food app for finding, rating and sharing dishes. Rate each dish with a note about what the kitchen told you, add a tag as one diner's note, follow friends who eat the way you do and share a list with them.