Nut Allergy Warning and then Serving
Apr 13, 2018, 5:06 am
#62
Join Date: Oct 2017
Location: London
Programs: BA Gold / OW Emerald
Posts: 753
There seems to be a little bit of confusion about some of the details. I suffer from allergies and got to learn a few things about allergies in general, luckily my symptoms are not severe, but the allergy specialist was quite chatty with me anyway, so I got to learn from him.
The most important point I think is that, yes, one can go into anaphylaxis (allergic shock) purely from peanut particles released in the air. I am not sure what kind of range that implies if the peanuts are somewhere else on the plane, but it is a thing. It can get particularly bad for people with fish allergies as the vapours from cooking fish really can travel far.
Now, onto other nuts. Some people are allergic to peanuts, some others are allergic to all nuts, but generally if one is very severe (at least to the point where airborne particles are an issue) peanuts will be the most likely culprit. Unless other nuts are mentioned, they are probably fine for others to eat.
BA might have some EpiPens, but I don't think any allergy sufferer should travel without it... and my personal experience really confirms that. So, even though I never had any severe reaction, I always travel with the whole kit. I once had to sting someone who hadn't had any problems with their hazelnut allergy when they went into shock after eating some when they were abroad and didn't realise it was part of the ingredients of something they bought. They didn't have an EpiPen (and never did), and I'm glad I did have one, as luck would have it. The good news is that those things are incredibly easy to use, so hey, there's that.
The most important point I think is that, yes, one can go into anaphylaxis (allergic shock) purely from peanut particles released in the air. I am not sure what kind of range that implies if the peanuts are somewhere else on the plane, but it is a thing. It can get particularly bad for people with fish allergies as the vapours from cooking fish really can travel far.
Now, onto other nuts. Some people are allergic to peanuts, some others are allergic to all nuts, but generally if one is very severe (at least to the point where airborne particles are an issue) peanuts will be the most likely culprit. Unless other nuts are mentioned, they are probably fine for others to eat.
BA might have some EpiPens, but I don't think any allergy sufferer should travel without it... and my personal experience really confirms that. So, even though I never had any severe reaction, I always travel with the whole kit. I once had to sting someone who hadn't had any problems with their hazelnut allergy when they went into shock after eating some when they were abroad and didn't realise it was part of the ingredients of something they bought. They didn't have an EpiPen (and never did), and I'm glad I did have one, as luck would have it. The good news is that those things are incredibly easy to use, so hey, there's that.
Apr 13, 2018, 7:13 am
#63
Fontaine d'honneur du Flyertalk
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Morbihan, France
Programs: Reine des Muccis de Pucci; Foreign Elitist (according to others)
Posts: 19,170
Interesting though this is, I go back to the point about the peanut desert. I am astonished that this should be on a meal tray served by BA. Does anyone have a menu to check what it is? Pecan, Walnut, Hazelnut, Almond I could understand - Peanut surprises me.