Federal officials considering whether to ban peanuts on commercial flights, farmers cry foul

Federal regulators are mulling whether to restrict or even completely ban serving peanuts on commercial flights.

The snack attack would ease fears and reduce the potential harm to nearly 1.8 million Americans who suffer from peanut allergies, advocates say. But peanut farmers are crying foul, saying the ruling is overreaching.

"The peanut is such a great snack and such an American snack," Martin Kanan, CEO of the King Nut Companies, told the Associated Press. "What's next? Is it banning peanuts in ballparks?"

The U.S. Transportation Department announced last week that it was meeting with allergy sufferers, medical experts, the food industry and the public on whether to ban in-flight peanuts.

A spokesman for the department said it was responding to concerned travelers who either suffer from peanut allergies or have children that do.

"We're just asking for comment on whether we should do any of these three things," spokesman Bill Mosely told the AP. "We may not do any of them."

With News Wire Services - nydailynews.com