diff --git a/build_tools/packaging/wheel/osx_wheel.sh b/build_tools/packaging/wheel/osx_wheel.sh
index f862e27220..f107c08535 100755
--- a/build_tools/packaging/wheel/osx_wheel.sh
+++ b/build_tools/packaging/wheel/osx_wheel.sh
@@ -2,6 +2,10 @@
 
 set -ex
 
+if [[ ":$PATH:" == *"conda"* ]]; then
+    echo "existing anaconda install in PATH, remove it and run script"
+    exit 1
+fi
 # download and activate anaconda
 rm -rf ~/minconda_wheel_env_tmp
 wget -q https://repo.anaconda.com/miniconda/Miniconda3-latest-MacOSX-x86_64.sh && \