5 hours agoShareSaveJoe McFaddenShareSaveHandoutOne morning before school, Rex, aged nine, ate a hot cross bun. Minutes later, he was struggling to breathe and went into anaphylactic shock.Rex is allergic is to peas and lentils – ingredients you would not commonly expect to find in a hot cross bun. However, when Rex’s mum looked at the packaging, it turned out the glazing used on the bun contained pea protein – causing Rex’s allergic reaction.Pea is not one of the 14 allergens required by law to be listed on food labels but earlier this week, experts said it – among others – should be.Rex’s father, Tom, says it “feels like a lot of these things are booby-trapped”.”We couldn’t understand why,” he says. “It wasn’t a vegan recipe. What is pea protein doing in a hot cross bun?”After he went into anaphylactic shock, Rex was quickly given his EpiPen and taken to hospital. He made a full recovery but hot cross buns aren’t the only unassuming product he’s been tripped up by.During June’s heatwave, Rex bought an ice cream after school from a corner shop. As he’d eaten this particular brand before, he didn’t check the packaging but, unbeknownst to him, the ice cream now contained pea protein and caused another allergic reaction.Tom says Rex is now “terrified” of accidentally eating pea and having an allergic reaction.He agrees with experts that the list of 14 allergens should be expanded to include pea and feels “frustrated” it is being increasingly added to foods.’Game of roulette’ Under current regulations, food packaging in the UK and EU already lists the most common allergens for people to be aware of, such as egg, peanuts and sesame. They must be clearly emphasised, usually in bold, on labels while restaurants will either list allergens on menus or inform customers verbally.Rex isn’t the only child being caught out by pea protein in products.In 2023, Becky gave her son an ice lolly he’d eaten before with no issues. However, the now-five year-old quickly began coughing while his throat became irritated. The lolly contained pea protein – which her son, like Rex, is severely allergic too.For Becky and her husband, expanding the allergens list to include clear warnings for peas would be “life-changing” and a “massive weight” off their minds.”It’s getting harder and harder to say ‘well, it probably doesn’t contain pea’ because pea is in things that you would never think it would be,” she added.”It’s like playing a game of roulette.”HandoutAlthough it’s becoming more common, people with a pea allergy are finding it’s not taken as seriously as other allergies.Charlotte, 25, is allergic to all pulses – including peas, chickpeas and lentils. She would welcome expanding the allergen list as it would make people more aware of her allergies as she’s frequently told it’s “not a real allergy”.”I think because it’s kind of like a joke that people don’t like peas, people think that I’m just being fussy,” she says.”People just don’t consider it a real allergy or even understand what it is.”Charlotte says this can make eating out quite hard. Two weeks ago she went out for dinner in London and had an allergic reaction but staff insisted her food wasn’t contaminated.”I ended up apologising that I was having allergic reaction because I felt so embarrassed I was making an inconvenience for them.”Becky also says her son has had similar experiences.He’s allergic to egg, peanuts, nuts, sesame, chickpeas, peas and lentils but his reaction to pea is seen very differently – even though it’s as severe, if not worse than his reaction to peanuts.HandoutIt’s no …
