ALLERGEN
Tastes differ, we like different things, and we all react differently to food. Of course, one person likes soup, another swears by sushi or loves bread. But our bodies also react differently to food.

Some people have an allergic reaction to peanuts, milk, soy, mustard or egg. Or they may be hypersensitive to nuts, shellfish, molluscs (such as oysters), celery, sesame seeds or wheat. Because these ingredients can trigger a reaction, they are called food allergens.

In order to help allergy sufferers, all these ingredients must be listed on the label (unless already apparent from the name of the product, e.g. milk or soy sauce). And the derivatives of these ingredients that may cause a reaction in people with food allergies or celiac disease must also be mentioned.

To be on the safe side, food manufacturers often choose to also indicate whether it may contain traces of an allergen or whether it was produced in an environment where allergens are present.

It goes without saying that ONOFF's products also carry this information. But maybe it's handy to know when we do or don't use (EU listed) ingredients that can cause a reaction in people with a food allergy.

SOY

Some of our wok sauces contain soy. In the soy sauces of course, but also in oyster sauce and in the Thai noodle wok sauce pad thai.

To make sambal badjak and sambal vega trassi, we use fermented soy beans.

WHEAT

We do not use wheat in any of our products. To be honest, there is a very practical reason for this. In Thailand, almost no wheat is grown. But Thailand is one of the largest tapioca producers in the world.

It is therefore obvious that we use the flour tapioca made from cassava root to make citric acid. We use this citric acid as an organic preservative in our curry pastes.

OYSTERS

Oysters are also on the list of ingredients which may cause an allergic reaction. Of course, our oyster sauce contains oysters. We bind our oyster sauce with tapioca flour and guar gum. Guar gum is extracted from the seeds of the guar plant. These seeds can also be eaten as green beans.

So apart from oysters and soy, you will not find any other ingredients from the European Union list in our products.

Another thing. You will probably often read it on a label: lactose and gluten free. It can be explained briefly what this means.

LACTOSE AND GLUTEN FREE

Gluten is dangerous for people with the autoimmune disease celiac disease. Gluten is a mixture of proteins found in cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. Celiac disease can cause serious inflammation after eating gluten.

Lactose is milk sugar, a carbohydrate. Not everyone digests milk sugar equally well, or sometimes not at all. As a result, milk, milk products (such as cottage cheese, some cheeses, cream) or milk components can cause physical problems. It is not for nothing that all our products are naturally gluten and lactose free.