To be annoyed by these nuts?

[MrsTeach]

I'm probably unreasonable and I'm prepared for people to not agree but as an allergy sufferer this really bugs me.

Are there not any control measures in place in-store in supermarkets with regards to allergens? 

Supermarkets now sell nuts at Christmas in net bags which are placed next to unpackaged products in the fresh fruit and vegetable aisles.

How are they approaching the cross contamination issue here as so many people suffer from life threatening nut allergies?

If someone handled these net bags of nuts, which are partially open due to the design of the bag, and then handled the fresh produce and put it back this would cause cross contamination.

Is it necessary to sell the nuts in this way when so many people are suffering reactions to traces of nut products?

There have been so many news reports of people dying over the last year due to carelessness surrounding allergen controls.
Wouldn’t selling nuts in secure packaging help to work towards keeping people safe?

And breathe!

I don't think this is new, remember it from my childhood in the 80's all the way through to present. However, your concerns are genuine.

I can see where you're coming from, but as I suspect what you suggest would involve using a whole load of unrecyclable plastic packaging AND I'm not aware of any cases of people being affected by nuts in net bags then I'm afraid I think YABU

Forgive me if I've misunderstood, but aren't nut allergies triggered by the actual nuts, rather than the shells?

@ShinyMe a reaction can be triggered by the shells, I have had a reaction by handling pistachio shells before. Also there is a risk of the shells being broken during transport and so the actual nut could then pose a risk.

Thank you for the replies. I appreciate the view points, I guess the anxiety takes over at times.

I didn't realise that, thank you. I've learnt something for today.

@ShinyMe

I never thought of that you know.

I think they should be in a separate area, not near fruit/veg often not in packaging which people then pick up and mix.
I say that as someone who likes nuts!

@EspressoButler at least they acknowledge the fact it's unsafe but it just boggles my mind!

I honestly think this is a tough one. On the one hand, nuts are perfectly packaged in their own shells to render additional packaging surplus to requirements.

But I understand and appreciate the allergy risk (anaphylactic relative) too.

However; the cross contamination which has occurred and made the news has always been due to product being ingested. Statistically this means the risk of loose nuts and fruit being next to each other is currently negligible. I assume the majority of people wash the fruit before eating.

With regards to your pistachio reaction, I'd be intrigued to know whether these were whole (unsplit) nuts or the remains of shelled ones, which conceivably would have the residue from the inner nut inside. I've never seen unsplit pistachios, even loose. They've always been partially split.

The thing is, you can't remove everything because some people have allergies. Would you consider not having balloons at your dc party because someone might be allergic to latex? I say this as a latex allergy sufferer. I take antihistamines and my epipen and stop trying to make others revolve around me.

They've sold them like this for around 80 years. Have you only just started doing your own shopping OP?

Also do you have a Peanut allergy or a Nut allergy? They are not the same thing at all.

I guess most people do wash their fruit, I definitely do. However I was thinking more in terms of skin reactions to handling fruit that has been contaminated or even children handling it and then putting their fingers on their faces/in their mouths which could potentially cause a more severe reaction.

The pistachio shells reaction was when I was much younger and I swept a handful of nuts in their shells off a table, my hands were then covered in an itchy rash (as were my eyes as I stupidly touched my face)! Admittedly they had been being eaten so I'm sure there could have been some open shells there to cause the reaction.

I am probably over cautious through self preservation.

Kiwis are loose to & are a risk as well.

@BonnieandHyde
Apologies, I haven't only just started to do my own shopping but I have only just started using mumsnet as a place to share my unreasonable issues.

I'm well aware of how nut allergies differ, my allergy is to all tree nuts and peanuts including air borne reactions.

I have never suggested the world should revolve around those with nut allergies, it was merely a question of what other people thought.

OP YANBU, my DC could die by coming into contact with nuts, so I can't but agree, he ended up in hospital as a three year old by playing on a sofa where peanuts had been eaten, he is highly allergic

Christmas is a nightmare, with nuts everywhere, it is horrible for us

And no, we don't think the world revolves around us, but when small precautions could save a child's life I don't think it is unreasonable to expect it (and packaging would not have to be plastic, or as PP said, just keep them in one area of the shop)

Imagine it was a poisonous substance that could kill you or your children being sold next to fresh fruit with no packaging, would you honestly not expect the shop to do something about it? for my son it is just like that

I noticed this, too, in a Tesco Express when I was buying a sandwich. They've always sold net bags of nuts, but usually in a separate but section, not nestled up with other food.

I have had pretty severe skin reactions in the past from being in the same room as a bowl of walnuts, but I don't know whether that was just from the shells or whether there were lingering airborne particles of the inside of the nut from someone cracking the shells before I was in the room.

And I never have latex balloons at a party of I know that any of the guests are allergic. Apart from one time when I forgot and I'm still mortified whenever I think about it.

But should I demand a restaurant remove all balloons before I enter? Just don't touch them and take antihistamines if you do.

@BroomstickOfLove every party my dc go to they have balloons and try to give them out at the end. My dc always say no because mummy's allergic. Swim school used to insist on latex swim hats too so I had to move dd to a different pool.

What about milk OP? Or fish, or gluten, or wheat, or sulphites from the loose dried fruit. In this day and age it is unfortunately impossible to live in a completely free from bubble when you're out and about.

Unfortunately there are more allergies than just nut allergies however for whatever reason it seems like nut allergies seem to be the highest profile allergy with people thinking that only nut allergies are serious. Wrong. Any allergy can be serious.
One of my dc carries an epipen for chicken allergy. Yes seriously. And while their school is nut free I can't see them, nor do I expect them to be a chicken free zone.

Incidentally the Anaphylaxis campaign does NOT support the widespread use of nut bans.

@dUHcknotdOOk I'm not for a minute suggesting that nut allergies are the worst or most important and if that is what you took from my original post then I clearly worded it wrong.

However, I haven't seen milk or fish loose alongside other unpackaged foods so the risk appears less in a supermarket context.

I'm not trying to enforce a nut ban anywhere just appropriate packaging. Unpackaged fish are on the fish counter, meat on the meat counter, unpackaged bread products in the bakery section, why not keep the unpackaged nuts separate?

Yes, absolutely, of course risk cannot be eliminated (we wish!) but it should be minimised wherever possible for all allergies, unfortunately allergies are on the rise, so we will have to learn to manage and mitigate the risks more and more

as for balloons, I think they should be banned also for environmental reasons!

It's a case of where do you draw the line.

Fish counters are open and pose a risk to the fish/shellfish allergic.

A friend is anaphylactic reactive to mushrooms. Even surfaces that have been in contact and improperly cleaned can cause a reaction. If a loose mushroom were to roll into another veg tray and then be removed, the inadvertent and unknown cross contamination would make my friend very very ill.

Regardless of the environmental impact of increasing packaging, where would you stop? Would you bag up all the flowers in spring because hay fever can cause asthmatic reactions which might be fatal if not appropriately treated?

Ultimately it is about people taking responsibility for themselves. We are so molly coddled and told what we can and cannot do, when it comes to applying common sense to a situation, we are sadly lacking.