News outlets across the globe have picked up the story that dry roasting peanuts may increase the risk of developing peanut allergies, due to chemical changes caused by intense heat during the roasting process.

The finding based on research on mice by the Sattentau group featured in local and national press here and via news agencies in a variety of locations including the US, Canada, The Gulf, Malta, India and Northern Ireland.

The United States in particular lapped up the story with coverage in The Washington Post, Huffington Post, Los Angelas Times and via Fox News. America’s interest in the story may be due to their love of peanut butter. Americans eat enough peanut butter in a year to make more than 10 billion peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, according to the USA National Peanut Board.

Washington Post journalist Sarah Larimer wrote: ‘We specifically asked about peanut butter, because well … come on, who wouldn't ask about peanut butter?’

Researcher Amin Moghaddam said: ‘We are currently investigating methods that could be food industry friendly and that can be used to eliminate potential harmful chemical changes.’

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Read the full study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

The US National Institutes of Health and the Swiss National Science Foundation helped fund the research.