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Latex-food syndrome
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Latex allergy is caused by a reaction to a number of allergens found in natural rubber or latex. In recent years, the number of people with latex allergy has increased, particularly among healthcare workers and people with spina bifida, because they come into contact with lots of latex products.
Latex contains many allergens that are similar to the allergens in some foods, so people who are allergic to latex might also find they react to foods such as apple, avocado, banana, carrot, celery, cherry, chestnut, coconut, kiwi, mango, paprika, and strawberry. This is called latex-food syndrome. In the same way, people who are allergic to these foods may also react to latex.
People with a latex allergy should be tested for allergies to foods that are linked to latex-food syndrome.
Some initial research has suggested that small amounts of latex could be transferred to food from gloves used by food handlers, or from some packaging or labels. But at the moment there isn't enough evidence to say for sure if latex does transfer to food in this way, or if this could be a problem for people who are allergic to latex. The FSA has commissioned further research on this.
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