EsherFlyer

I've had this announcement on a couple of flights recently. After one the duck with (loose) walnuts in the salad dressing was served. I partially recall that not all nuts are nuts for allergy purposes, so maybe this is OK ?

JayeJ

I'm curious: I didn't see where they indicated whether the reaction was from accidentally/unknowingly ingesting something they were allergic to or from airborne allergens. That be an important detail in light of this discussion, I would think.

LordBuckethead

This has happened on a flight I've been on... the crew then were very specific in saying that their SOP is not to serve loose nuts but that the advice from their internal doctors was that it was safe to continue serving dishes with nuts in them as the 'contaminants' were considered less likely to be cause an airborne issue if they weren't loose au naturel.

Also worth noting that while they can ask other passengers not to eat nuts, they have no way to guarantee that no one will eat anyway something they had brought with them, however close they may be sitting to the relevant passenger.

I'm also very pleased to note that this thread has yet to descend to a Carry On level!

drwilliams

This is a pretty thin report on the issue. It even starts with "Minimal data exist on the prevalence and characteristics of in-flight reactions to foods."

Food allergy issues are extremely complex, with so many factors it can be hard to get good data on how prevalent the issue really is. And self reporting adds even more questions.

Even people with allergies will sometimes not inform people who are serving them about their allergies, which seems crazy to me, but is probably as common as people who say they are allergic to something when they actually are not.

I do not think skipping peanut or nut items on a flight is a big deal, but determining how effective it is could be tough to quantify.

LTN Phobia

Are you sure it was actually peanut and not another nut?
I cannot remember seeing peanut on any of what must well exceed 1,000 sectors in CE.

HIDDY

Is the humble peanut the only food item that deserves such an allergy warning to be made or are there others?

theddo

Peanuts are however not nuts.

BA followed their procedures, and if you are at risk of death from peanuts it is probably a bad idea to suggest onboard that you are allergic, what would BA do? Not serve food because of it? I find that unlikely they would, and if peanuts were served in the cabin without any other options and someone brought it to BAs attention after everyone was loaded I would expect them to find themselves in the terminal awaiting a rebooking rather than no food being served.

walkingtall

Couldn't guarantee it was Peanut , but when i asked why was being served , i wasn't told its almond or similar , i was told that the passenger was in a different cabin , so hence my query

msm2000uk

So I'm in CE in Row 5, and ET starts at Row 6.

According to the BA rules, I can enjoy my "loose nuts" quite willingly, all because I'm sat in a different cabin to an allergy sufferer in Row 6.

I had no idea that the CE/ET curtain had such power! Evidently it can prevent allergic reactions.

Sure, it's an extreme example, and I'd like to hope that common sense would prevail, but the BA rules seem to say I'd be within my own rights to demand that I can enjoy my snack.

M

muscat

From The Anaphylaxis Campaign:
Some people with peanut allergy report that they experience symptoms when peanut snacks are handed around to passengers with their drinks. The most likely cause of these reactions is skin contact. If you touch a fold-down tray, or some other surface, that has previously been touched by a passenger eating peanuts you could have a reaction. To minimise the risk, you could carry ‘wet wipes’ to clean surfaces as soon as you get on the plane.

Reactions caused by inhalation of peanut dust are thought to be less likely, but may sometimes occur, particularly if you are extremely allergic and the passengers sitting near you are eating peanuts.

You should be guided by your doctor or consultant, and your allergy history. If you know you are at the high end of the risk scale (for example, you have reacted by inhaling peanut allergen in the past) then it would be sensible to seek a flight that doesn’t sell or serve peanuts by contacting the airline well in advance.

The response of the airlines

Some airlines have removed peanut snacks altogether from certain classes of flight. Others will withdraw them from specified flights if they are contacted well in advance. Others will not withdraw them under any circumstances. If possible, contact the airline you plan to fly with well in advance and find out their policy. If you succeed in booking a ‘peanut friendly’ flight, seek confirmation when you check in.

British Airways and Virgin Atlantic are among those airlines that have removed peanut snacks from certain classes of flight but check that this is still their policy.

Other foods

Although airlines tend to focus on the possible risk from peanuts, other foods must not be neglected. The steam from certain cooked foods (e.g. fish and shellfish) has been known to trigger reactions. If you are allergic to fish or shellfish, you may be concerned that meals served to other passengers may cause you problems.

(my bolding)

Bar Operator

squawk

I am fortunate not to suffer from any allergies (at least, that I’m aware of!) but for those who have a serious nut allergy it can cause life threatening anaphylactic shock.

As others have discussed, the risk from airborne particles is less than via contact, but it’s a case of doing what you can to minimise that risk.

Those with serious allergies often carry “epipens” with which ti inject themselves in case of an allergic reaction. However, this is quite unpleasant(!) and prevention is better than cure.

There is also a problem of ‘compliance’: many teenagers, in particular, don’t carry their epipens with them all the time - it is seen as a “disease talisman”, something which marks them out as different at an age when they simple want to fit in. In turn this makes needless, preventable deaths more likely. Former colleagues of mine have looked at ways to improve this, through different forms of education of the teenagers themselves.

TheOldMan

I has a similar situation on my flight from Salzburg to LHR the other day. Perhaps it's a ploy by BA to save money.

chrisboote

Thanks to BA's overuse of cheese in almost every meal option in every class, I bring sandwiches on long haul flights

I make my own bread

It absolutely 100% WILL contain nuts (I even use groundnut oil instead of olive oil as it bakes better) and might even be ... shock, horror ... a peanut butter sandwich

I am not going hungry on an 11-12 hour flight, so why doesn't the affected person, the minority, remove themselves from the 'contamination' and take responsibility for their own issue?

I am severely allergic to cheese (fatally allergic in fact, as if I accidentally eat it, it triggers such an attack that I need a steroid injection to be able to breathe), so much so that the smell of e.g. lasagne is going to make me vomit. Copiously.. It may even induce anaphylaxia. I don't know, because I remove myself from the problem, and go and stand elsewhere while the cheese meal is being served to people near me, then resume my seat once it's over

I would never consider that anyone else should be inconvenienced for my allergy

msm2000uk

So then based on your description, do you feel unwell on every BA flight that you take?

M