Can peanut or soybean oils cause allergies?
Food allergies are caused by the protein components of food. Edible oils undergo extensive processing (sometimes referred to as “fully refined”) which removes virtually all protein from the oil. Refined edible oils therefore do not cause allergic reactions because they do not contain allergenic protein. Food products containing refined edible oils as ingredients are also non-allergenic unless the food products contain other sources of protein. Some edible oils may be extracted and processed by procedures that do not remove all protein present. Mechanical or “cold press” extraction is occasionally used which may not remove all protein. These cold pressed oils are rarely used domestically and are usually found only in health food or gourmet food stores. Studies using cold pressed soybean oil have shown it to be safe; however, insufficient testing has been done to ensure that all cold pressed oils can be safely consumed by sensitive individuals. The vast preponderance of edible oils consu
