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Nut allergy
Why is there peanut oil in Abidec vitamin drops?
From Ms J. Keshani, MRPharmS
With the current advice surrounding the ingestion of nuts possibly triggering an allergy and
also the increasing incidence in nut allergies among the young, I find it astounding that a multivitamin
product — Abidec, manufactured by Warner Lambert (Pfizer Consumer Healthcare) — specifically
designed to be administered to the young contains arachis oil.
As the mother of a child who suffers from a nut allergy, it upsets me to see that an alternative
formulation has not been devised, particularly when many other companies have been able to revise
their product formulations in order to omit arachis oil.
Nowadays, when there is a growing awareness of nut allergies and when the media have made links
between early exposure to nuts and allergies such an issue, surely a company such as Warner-Lambert
should have taken a bigger stance in this matter of life and death and at the very least included
a warning on the product itself to inform parents of the contents.
Jankee Keshani
Kidlington, Oxfordshire
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ANDY RUSH, general manager (United Kingdom, Ireland, Nordic), Pfizer Consumer Healthcare,
states:
Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin. Arachis oil (peanut oil) is included in Abidec
as a "carrier" for the vitamin A palmitate, as a means of incorporating the vitamin A into
the water-based solution. Arachis oil has always been used for this purpose in both old
and new formulations of Abidec.
All ingredients contained in the products, including the arachis oil, are clearly listed
on the outer packaging of the product, the labelling on the bottle and the patient information
leaflet, in line with Medicines Control Agency regulations.
Our supplier (Roche Vitamins) has confirmed that only highly refined, purified peanut
oil is used in production of the product. The arachis oil has
been degummed, neutralised, bleached and deodorised. These treatments reduce the protein content to
a very low level. Furthermore, based on laboratory analysis, it is not possible to detect any proteins
in the oil. It is also current common scientific understanding that degummed, bleached and deodorised
oils are free from protein carrying allergenic potential.1
Clearly, it would be considered good clinical practice to avoid administration of any
product containing peanut-derived materials to an individual with known sensitivity to
peanuts. This advice is reflected in the summary of product characteristics for Abidec,
which states: "Abidec Multivitamin Drops is contraindicated in individuals with known hypersensitivity
to the product or any of its components including peanut oil."
The patient information leaflet repeats this advice.
Reference
1. Bousquet J. Scientific criteria and the selection of allergenic foods for product
labelling. Allergy 1998;53 (47 Suppl):3–21. |
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