A New Zealander living in Perth, Australia filmed herself eating a Whittaker’s Peanut Slab on a plane after a woman in the jet bridge remarked, within earshot, that she was glad she wasn’t anaphylactic.
The 21-second clip has been watched more than 3.1 million times, and the comment section mostly turned on the creator.
Madi (@life_with_madi), whose channel is a running account of incidents from her life, posted it on Aug. 10. “I’m a Kiwi, it’s my birthright,” she says, chocolate in hand. “I’m just eating my peanut slab in peace and quiet, and the lady behind me in the tunnel says, thank God I’m not anaphylactic.”
Her answer to that is the line that travelled. “You can’t even be out in the wild eating a peanut slab,” she says. “Yes I can. And yes I will.”
How Did People React To Woman Eating Peanut Product On A Plane?
The top comment on the post received more than 39,000 likes. It simply said, “You’re on the wrong side of this one”. Another popular comment from thefatgirlchronicles read “Imagine thinking your candy is more important than a person’s life.” Gabbieee_k added “You’re definitely in the wrong. This is inconsiderate.”
A viewer posting as itsbrittneyreibelt wrote: “As a nurse I’ve literally watched people going into anaphylactic shock from someone eating peanut in a completely different room to them,” she wrote, “So I do agree in this confined space pick a different snack.”
A much smaller group of commenters took Madi’s side, some of whom said that they too were allergic. “As someone who is anaphylactic, eat the peanuts,” wrote nicole.chartrand3, in a comment Madi liked. “My allergy is not your problem. I will take extra precautions, but I damn well ain’t going to tell a stranger not to eat something.”
What The Research Actually Says
The argument under thousands of replies is whether peanut protein moves through a cabin. It mattered enough that the United Kingdom’s Civil Aviation Authority commissioned a review of the evidence.
Paul Turner and Nigel Dowdall published the results in the BMJ journal Archives of Disease in Childhood in October 2024. “There is no evidence that peanut or tree nut allergens are spread through aircraft cabin ventilation systems,” they wrote. Per their study, cabin HEPA filters have “a particle-removing efficiency of 99·97% at 0·3 µm,” capturing “the vast majority of aerosolised food particles.”
The statistics point in the same direction. Food-allergic people are “around 10–100 times less likely to have a reaction on an aeroplane” than on the ground, the paper found. Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia puts in-flight reactions at roughly 0.7 cases per million passengers, and reactions severe enough to need adrenaline at 0.08 per million.
Aerosolisation from other passengers opening and eating nuts, the organisation says, “has not been shown to cause anaphylaxis, even in small, closed-in spaces, like on a plane.”
Is There A Risk To Eating Peanuts On A Plane?
None of that constitutes a free pass to crack open a bag of peanuts. What Turner and Dowdall identify is residue. “Peanut residue present on aircraft surfaces (seats, seat-back entertainment systems, trays) may be transmitted to the hands,” they wrote.
Turner explained the finding further when the paper was first published. “Allergenic food is really sticky, and can be found on seat surfaces, tabletops, and seat-back entertainment screens,” he said. “If food-allergic people have time to clean their seat area with something like a baby wipe or antibacterial wipe, they are much less likely to have these type of reactions.”
Although he doesn’t dismiss the dangers altogether, the scientists’ advice inverts most of what the thread assumed. Cleaning the seat area, tray table and entertainment screen “is likely to be the most effective measure,” the paper says, and boarding ahead of the crowd buys the time to do it. While that is the measure passengers tend to ask for, in practice it does less than they think: announcements asking people to refrain from eating nuts are “unlikely to be effective,” Turner and Dowdall found, and can leave allergic passengers falsely reassured.
Blowback Changes Woman’s Mind
Madi has since added a long note to the video’s caption, and it gives ground. “The birthright joke was in reference to being a New Zealander and eating my favourite New Zealand made chocolate,” she wrote. “Not some kind of commentary on my human rights.”
She also set out what the 21 seconds left out. The woman in the jet bridge “DIDN’T have allergies,” she wrote, and “wasn’t sat next to me as I filmed this. Nor was I aware of anyone else on the flight or around me as having a severe peanut allergy.” Had she known, she added, “of course if I was aware that someone did have allergies I would respond accordingly.”
She conceded the rest too. “Was my delivery of my point as clear or as considered as it could be? No.” And on the science: “Have I now learned a lot more than I knew before about airborne protein vs direct contact? Absolutely.”
A follow-up posted on Aug. 12, which has drawn more than 10,700 views, takes on her critics rather than the chocolate. “TikTok is my hobby, not my livelihood,” she says in it. “It’s my joy. It’s my therapy.” The comment she liked at the top of that thread came from a parent. “My son is allergic to peanuts,” wrote mama47796. “Do I think you are a horrible person? Absolutely not. I do think education and listening is key to helping others.”
For anyone who flies with a peanut allergy, the birthright discourse is beside the point. The takeaway from the science is to board early where the airline allows it, wipe the tray table, screen and armrests before sitting down, and keep the adrenaline within reach of the seatbelt.
BoardingArea reached out to Madi via TikTok direct message for comment. We’ll be sure to update this if she responds.
@life_with_madi *For those missing the point. Please watch my follow up video.* I’m always going to love me a Whittakers Peanut slab. The birthright joke was in reference to being a New Zealander and eating my favourite New Zealand made chocolate. Not some kind of commentary on my human rights. The point of the video was that a lady who DIDN’T have allergies, was so passive aggressive in her comments to me before we even got on the plane. She wasn’t sat next to me as I filmed this. Nor was I aware of anyone else on the flight or around me as having a severe peanut allergy. Of course if I was aware that someone did have allergies I would respond accordingly. Was my delivery of my point as clear or as considered as it could be? No. Have I now learned a lot more than I knew before about airborne protein vs direct contact? Absolutely. Watch my follow up video if you wish.
♬ original sound – life_with_madi
