Banana ban at BBC, 1 staff suffers allergy

 

 Staff at the BBC’s new London headquarters have been told to stop eating bananas at work because one member of staff is allergic to them.

t is feared one member of staff could suffer an unpleasant allergic reaction if she comes into contact with a banana.

The banana-free zone has been put in place in “specific areas of the newsroom”, where staff have been warned unpeeling or eating the fruit at their desks could cause problems.

A spokesman for the BBC today claimed the ban was not imposed by the corporation, but issued by members of staff concerned for their colleague’s welfare.

He added the posters were designed and put up by workers to make others in the new building aware of the reporter’s condition. 

It is believed she suffers from an allergy to bananas which can lead to "severe symptoms" but is not fatal.
A spokesman for the BBC said: “The posters placed in specific areas of the newsroom have been put up by staff out of courtesy for a fellow colleague who has a strong medical sensitivity to bananas which can lead to severe symptoms.”

Banana allergies are understood to come in two forms, with some sufferers reacting to tree pollens and others to a substance similar to that in natural latex.

It can sometimes take the form of a rash, sickness or tingling of the lips, tongue and throat.
Those who suffer a more extreme form of the allergy can go into anaphylactic shock, where the mouth, throat and airways can constrict. Without prompt treatment, such a reaction can lead to death.
Some schools and nurseries are known to have banned nuts from lunchboxes due to one or more pupils suffering a severe allergy.

In 2009, it was revealed children at Stoke Damerel Primary School, in Plymouth, had been banned from carrying bananas in their packed lunches because a teacher had a life-threatening allergy.