The rate of peanut butter allergies has soared in recent years, and many kids are denied the traditional lunch box staple of a PB&J. So an Alberta entrepreneur has created an alternative. But some parents aren't enthusiastic about the product.

The new peanut butter alternative is called Golden Peabutter. It looks and smells just like peanut butter.

"What do you get when you take the nut out of peanut butter? You get pea butter, so the name is right. We took the nut out of peanut butter," says Peabutter founder Joe St. Denis of Legal, Alberta.

Peabutter is made with crushed peas, along with canola and vegetable oils and sugar. It's cholesterol-free, low in fat and nutritious. It's also a completely nut-free attempt to bring a safe version of the lunch box staple to those who are allergic.

For the past 20 years St. Denis has grown several varieties of peas and beans on his farm. About five years ago, he began working on recipes for new products from his crops. He consulted with researchers at the provincial Food Processing Development Centre in Leduc and together they developed Golden Peabutter.

It can now be found in select Safeway stores across the country and in some IGA stores -- right next to the real stuff.

"We don't need to replace peanut butter, just help the people who can't have it," explains St. Denis.

Some might say Joe St. Denis was nuts to sink more than $800,000 into the idea. But there's certainly a market: one in 100 kids in Canada are allergic to peanuts. Even the slightest trace of nuts can cause a deadly reaction. Many schools, day cares and even some airlines have had to ban peanuts.

Peanut allergies have doubled in Canada in the last decade, making a market for peanut-free products.

The peabutter idea sounds like a great solution. But some parents are apprehensive. Kim Broberg controls everything her six-year-old Amanda eats. She's not sure she would serve her Golden Peabutter.

"I'd be afraid she wouldn't know the difference," she says.

Amanda has an anaphylaxis reaction to allergens, and she's been taught to stay way from anything that resembles nuts, including the look-a-likes.

"Alternative products that look, smell and taste just like the real thing are a little bit frightening because if they don't look any different I think it's hard for little kids to know what's different," says Broberg.

Dr. Jane Salter of Anaphylaxis Canada urges caution around peanut alternatives.

"Now if you're giving them a mixed message that Peabutter's okay and peanut butter is not okay and they look the same, then that's very confusing," says Salter.