From the source (CAN)
Fruit, Vegetable & Nut Allergies
Associated with Spring Allergies (due
to tree pollen) FRUITS: APPLE family
(apple, pear) PLUM family (plum,
peach, prune, nectarine, apricot,
cherry) KIWI
VEGETABLES: PARSLEY family (carrot,
celery, dill, anise, cumin, coriander,
caraway) POTATO family (potato,
tomato, green pepper)
NUTS: Hazelnut, walnut, almond
LEGUMES: Peas, beans, peanut
SEEDS: Sunflower
Ragweed allergy (which causes hayfever
in August and September) can be
associated with allergies to raw
bananas, and the members of the gourd
family (melon, watermelon, honeydew,
cantaloupe, zucchini and cucumber).
Grass allergy can be associated with
allergies to orange, melon,
watermelon, tomato, kiwi, peanut.
Explaining about the allergy and ways of combatting it:
These allergic reactions usually occur
only when the food is raw. People who
are allergic to the raw food can eat
it cooked, canned, microwaved,
processed or baked. For example,
someone allergic to raw apples can eat
apple sauce, apple jelly, apple juice,
apple pie and dried apples. However,
nuts may cause allergic reactions
whether raw or cooked. This problem is
usually life long. Allergy tests to
these foods may sometimes be negative
unless a fresh fruit is used for the
test (instead of a commercial allergy
extract). The allergic reaction to
these foods can occur anytime of the
year when eating the foods but can be
worse during the pollen season and
especially if hayfever is very
troublesome that year.
The allergic reaction is not due to
pesticides, chemicals or wax on the
fruit. Howeve,r because the more
allergic part of the fruit may be in
the skin, some people allergic to
fruits, e.g., peaches, can eat the
flesh without reaction if the skin is
peeled away. Similarly for apples,
some brands of apples cause more
allergic reactions than others.
Freshly picked apple, e.g., straight
from the tree or an unripe apple, may
cause fewer allergic reactions than
one which is very ripe or one which
has been stored for weeks after
picking.
To this, I'd like to add that, in The Netherlands at least, the Santana apple is available as a special anti-allergy apple, and, for me at least, it works!
Also, as a technique, (deep)freezing the food may also offer benefits, or cooking the food in acid(ic) substances.
Other alternatives:
Substitute Raw Fruits Berries*
(strawberry, blueberry, raspberries,
etc.), citrus* (orange, mandarins,
etc.), grapes, currants, gooseberries,
guava, mango, figs, pineapple, papaya,
avocado, persimmon, pomegranates,
watermelon*.
Substitute Raw Vegetables MUSTARD
family (cabbage, cauliflower,
broccoli, watercress, radish GOOSEFOOT
family (spinach, swiss chard)
COMPOSITE family (green onions)
Substitute Nuts Peanut*, cashew,
pistachio, brazil, macadamia, pine
nut.
*May occasionally cause Oral Allergy Syndrome.
For me, this list indeed works, as I have a milder version of OAS. The substitue nuts work for me as well (walnut and almonds are terrible to me: the above are fine). When using pine nuts, try to use the European version, as the Chinese one can be horrible (which is a general problem with Chinese pine nuts)
Best Answer
There are two ways to define nuts, one botanical and the other culinary.
Botanical: It is a dry fruit containing one or two seeds, where the fruit does not open to release the seed. So, only indehiscent fruit are considered true nuts. eg. Walnut (image), pecans, chestnuts.
Culinary: A lot of seeds are called nuts even when they do not conform to the botanical definition. eg. Almonds, cashews(image).
Cocoa beans fall in neither category, so it is correct to say that the bag is nut free. Cocoa beans are harvested from a cocoa pod which is fruit like (image of cocoa pod with the seeds), so they definitely fall into the category of seeds and not nuts.
So the labelling on the bag is correct. As for the allergies, there may be people allergic to cocoa beans, but they wouldn't necessarily overlap with people who are allergic to nuts.