1.   Because nut allergies can cause quick fatal reactions, patients often are advised to carry a small device for self-administering epinephrine, which can halt the attack.

2.   Nut allergies can be life-threatening, so anyone who develops symptoms, described below, should refrain and be tested to determine which nuts to avoid.

3.   Several members of my family suffer from nut allergies.

4.   Food makers would not be allowed to put a gene from nuts into beans, for instance, because too many people have life-threatening nut allergies.

5.   For example, scientists added commercially valuable traits from the brazil nut to a strain of soybeans but ended up making the soybeans risky for people with nut allergies.

6.   A spokeswoman said anyone with a severe nut allergy attempting to lick it off could choke, get sick, and maybe die.