How to determine what I should eat on a flight with passengers with nut allergies
I recently returned from a trip to Florida on British Airways. On both flights there was an announcement that some passengers have a severe nut allergy and so we were instructed not to eat food containing nuts. I know that small traces of nuts on surfaces can be a problem, and I've read reports of air-borne traces causing reactions. For the purpose of this question assume that this is indeed the case, the air-crew have instructed me, and I want to comply with the letter and spirit of the request.
My usual practice for a trans-Atlantic flight is to buy a small snack to be consumed if I don't like the supplied meals. I often also bring a "Snickers" or "Payday", both containing peanuts, and in the latter case those nuts are on the exterior of the snack.
Hence, playing safe, I keep the Snickers and Payday in my bag, I'm complying, no nuts.
But the sandwich? One sometimes sees notices such as
This product is prepared in a kitchen where nuts are used. It may contain traces of nuts.
Assume that I want to do the right thing, how do I determine whether to open the sandwich? My instinct is that a simple ham sandwich in white bread simply cannot be a problem, but am I right? So, ask the flight crew? Do they know? Do they have training?
I see from this article that issue is quite tricky. My proposed course of action is to ensure that I don't bring sandwiches explicitly containing nuts (eg. cashew chicken wrap) but feel free to eat anything whose ingredient label does not specify nuts.
Best Answer
I wasn't able to find any official airline guidance, so I went and asked a friend who has severe allergies (including peanut) what she would want people to do. The important one (don't eat things containing nuts) is obvious, but she said you'd be surprised how many people ignore it. If you see someone eating nuts on a flight where they've said not to, call the steward and ask them to deal with it. Given the air circulation system, anyone in the same plane section is putting severe allergy people at risk.
Beyond that, for items "packaged in an environment containing nuts" or similar, the risk is much reduced (because, as has been noted, it's more a disclaimer than anything). If you feel you want/need to do something, ask the people around you if they are OK with it (specifically the people in the same seat block as you, so the window/aisle/middle seat next to you). If they're fine, you should be OK, it's much lower risk for anyone except those with the most severe allergies (the kind that probably won't fly anyway because the risk is too great, or have special arrangements made by the cabin staff). Once you're done, try to get the steward to take the packaging as soon as possible, and also wash your hands, both as a precautionary measure. While she herself can't eat things that hold this disclaimer, she can be around others eating these things, she just doesn't want to take the risk of touching it, directly or indirectly.
More importantly, don't go questioning or hunting too far for the person(s) with allergies. If someone says they aren't OK with you eating your food, accept that at face value. She's had at at least one, ahem, interesting altercation with an individual who believed their "right" to eat whatever they wanted trumped her right to a flight where she didn't go into anaphylactic shock, and everyone else's right to a flight that doesn't have to make an emergency landing.
Also, she wanted to thank you for asking this question, and for being considerate. Despite how widespread the issue of allergies are known, you see very few people asking what they can do to help those people.
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How do I fly with a severe nut allergy?
The airline recommends that allergic passengers check-in at least one hour prior to boarding. Passengers will be provided with a "Peanut Dust Allergy Document" to present to the flight crew onboard, which will notify the crew not to serve peanuts.Can you fly if you have a peanut allergy?
In reality, the science shows that people with peanut allergies can safely fly with minimal precautions \u2014 no need to ask the airline to create peanut-free zones, hand out explainer notes and free snacks to your entire cabin or worry yourself to death about a fatal cloud of peanut dust.What alternative foods can someone with a nut allergy eat?
If you're allergic to both peanuts and tree nuts, you can still safely eat seeds and seed butter. Popular substitutes include pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chickpeas, sunflower butter, and soy butter.Do they serve peanuts on airplanes?
If a passenger notifies Delta of a peanut or nut allergy at least 48 hours prior to the flight, the carrier will refrain from serving any kind of peanut products onboard, instead offering non-peanut snacks to everyone onboard.How To Travel with Food Allergies
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Answer 2
This kind of writing commonly found on food packaging
This product is prepared in a kitchen where nuts are used. It may contain traces of nuts.
Is a disclaimer. It serves the sole purpose of protecting the company from lawsuits in case a consumer gets an allergic reaction after eating their product. It makes sense for companies to use such a disclaimer because it rids them of the burden to have to guarantee absolutely zero presence of nuts and other allergens which, given their volatility, is everything but a trivial task.
Now, what you can do in the situation you described is to use your common sense. Like you correctly state: do not eat products which specifically state they contain the allergen. Anything else is most likely safe.
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