Could this be the key to curbing food allergies?
Including key ingredients in commercial baby food could be crucial to combating food allergies, a new study has shown. So why are they currently missing from most products?
Victoria
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Commercial baby food should contain ingredients like peanuts and sesame to reduce the risk of bubs getting allergies, researchers say.
A new Australian study has found store-bought infant food does not contain key allergens which babies should be consuming in their first year.
Researchers did an audit of 251 baby food products from 14 companies and found some contained wheat and cows’ milk proteins, but none had peanut, tree nuts, sesame or shellfish. Only one per cent contained egg.
Researchers, led by Dr Merryn Netting from the SA Health and Medical Research Institute, said infants fed mostly commercial infant foods are “unlikely to be exposed to sufficient amounts of the major food allergens on a regular basis during infancy”.
Dr Netting said such commercial baby foods were suitable for infants with an existing food allergy, but did not cater for others who need to build up tolerance against allergens.
“Therefore, in addition to specific practical advice, commercial infant foods should be developed that include, rather than avoid, common food allergens,” she said.
The results come as allergies affect one in ten Australian babies- one of the highest rates in the world.
Dr Netting said baby food packets that say their food is “free from” ingredients like peanuts and egg lead to parental confusion.
“These warnings infer that these are the better choice for parents to give their infants and that food allergens should be excluded from the diets of all infants,” she said.
Instead, she suggested baby food packets should say: “a good source of peanut or egg” in order to reinforce new guidelines that say babies should consume these products in the first year.
“Introduction of allergenic solid foods, especially peanut and hen’s egg, reduces the risk of food allergy development in early childhood,” Dr Netting said.
Yarraville mother-of-two Emma Clarke, 35, has been feeding her children Finnegan, 3, and Olive, 12 months, home-cooked food since they were born.
Neither have allergies, and she has tried to follow health guidelines suggesting babies try foods such as egg in the first year.
“We made a decision to prioritise good clean whole food for the children and don’t give them processed stuff sitting on a shelf – how good can it be?” Ms Clarke said.
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