The number of people struck by allergies to fruit and vegetables has rocketed rapidly, according to a specialist.

More than 8,000 people a year, mostly children and young people, suffer from swelling to the throat and resultant breathing difficulties after eating fruit and veg, according to Dr Pamela Ewan, an allergy consultant at Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge. She said numbers had increased hugely in the past four to five years to the point where it is more common than peanut allergies.

"It is a bit like the peanut allergy was the epidemic of the 1990s. I think fruit and vegetables are becoming the epidemic now,” Evans told the BBC.

“Early on when we first picked it up, it was passed off as not being serious. It began with fairly mild itching in the mouth.

"But now we are seeing people who are getting really severe throat closure, a significant swelling at the back of the throat which can impede breathing."

Suggestions are that, unlike allergies such as hayfever, the affliction is year-round, partially due to pollution, as diesel fumes can make pollen more allergenic.

Protein in pollen can cross-react with those in fruit and vegetables, with proteins in top-fruit and bananas the worst offenders, specialists claim.

But the industry has responded to fears that people who already have allergies may boycott some fruit and vegetables.

Sian Thomas of the Fresh Produce Consortium told freshinfo: “Most people enjoy eating fresh fruit and vegetables, with a minority of people who unfortunately suffer from an allergy to some fresh produce.

“Consumers in the UK are not eating enough fruit and vegetables to maintain a healthy diet, and it’s important to keep in perspective the need to encourage the majority of the population to eat 5 A DAY as part of a safe, affordable healthy diet.”

Adrian Barlow, ceo of English Apples & Pears, told freshinfo: “There are obviously a lot of allergies out there and they can affect people really badly. I believe there has been a considerable increase in asthma levels in the past few years too.

“But with all the public health struggles we currently face, with rising obesity through under-exercise, it is important there should be careful research to ascertain what the causes exactly are and whether a remedy can be found.”

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