Undiagnosed food allergies common in NZ - Video

Professor Ian Spellerberg at Lincoln University Environmental Studies Department is the man to contact if you want to become part of a group of concerned citizens wanting Silver Birch trees removed. Pesticides do NOT create Oral Allergy Syndrome.

Interesting clip. I too thought as a kid my tingling mouth thing when I ate fruit was normal until one day, as an adult, was eating a pear and my body started shutting down, trouble breathing and was if I was going paralised down left side of body. Have since try organics, growing my own fruit (new and old trees)and it makes no difference if they are had pesticides or not, ripe or not. And yes my list is getting longer as the years go on, Apples, pears, Kiwifruit, all stonefruit, all berries, potatoes, parsnips (I can still eat pineapple, melons and bananas - need to live on a tropical island rather than NZ!); certainly limits the foods you can have and generally people don't understand what it's like unless they have a food allergy themselves. Oh yeah I grew up around silver birches too.

Interesting article.
Like Petra I am sure that more people are sensitive to sprays that are now used in intensive farming, some of which can be hormonal disrupters.
Last year about this time the Waikato Times revealed some veges tested 3 times approx the allowable limit.
Another concern is the trend to global food supply and the increasing amount of imported fruit & veges we see in NZ, no doubt irradiated to maintain our biosecurity.
No wonder there is a trend to the grow your own vege garden or organic.

I missed the programme but my husband told me how informative it was! I too am grateful that Silver Birch Allergies and Oral Allery Syndrome have been bought to the attention of the nation. Having lived next door to 3 mature Silver Birch trees for nearly 2 decades ( they have now been removed), I have noticed that every year during pollen season, I have succumbed to numerous chest infections. 8 years ago I started getting reactions from touching and eating our organgic peaches- a quick search of the net came up with Oral Allergy Syndrome. Last year I had allergy skin tests at Medlab- and had an extreme reaction to Silver Birch. This year, despite trying to avoid the trees- I developed Seasonal Extringic Allergic Asthma caused by an extreme reaction to Silver Birch. The list of foods that make me itch, make my tongue and lips swollen, and aggravate my stomach is getting longer. So far I am allergic to Peaches, Apples, Pears, Nectarines, Plums, Cherries, Almonds, Chick Peas, and Peas. Shopping is a nightmare!( no more mixed vegetables or cheaper fruit juice )
When I wear an allergy mask ,I get a lot of stares.
I wish the christchurch City Council would remove all Silver Birches on council property. It would give sufferers like me a better chance to breathe allergy free air.

Interesting article. Do you think there is any link to the amount of pesticides we use to grow the fruit and vegetables? Is there a prick prick test for pesticides in our fruit? Seems a little bit shortsighted to me. I used to get a tingly feeling on my tongue from Kiwifruit but now I eat organic, I don't get it anymore. Maybe worth a closer look.

Thank you for bringing this to the public's attention. A few years ago, after having a 20 minute long sneezing fit from eating half an apple, I googled "apple allergy" and within 5 minutes knew all about oral allergy syndrome and that my allergies were linked to the silver birch tree. It is so gutting to be allergic to healthy food! I can't eat stone fruit, apples, pears, almonds and carrots. Reading your article was the first I knew about immunotherapy - is it an affordable treatment?