Festive Eating: Peanut and Food Allergy

Festive eating is an exciting experience however it is important to remain aware of potential ingredients while enjoying the season’s delights with friends and family. Whether you’re staying at home or travelling this Summer, being consistent with your approach to food allergy management is important as always.

Today, almost 3% of Australian children are allergic to peanuts and tragically, in some cases, exposure or consumption can be fatal. The recently launched Red Sneaker Campaign sends a strong message to families across the globe about the need for more awareness on food allergy and a reminder to maintain diligence around festive eating.

Peanut allergy is most common in infants and young children, but can appear in adults for the first time. Peanuts are in fact legumes, like peas, lentils and chickpeas. The proteins in peanut are different to those in tree nuts (such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnut, macadamia nuts, pecans, pistachios or walnuts). Therefore someone allergic to peanut is not necessarily going to be allergic to tree nuts.

Today, almost 3% of Australian children are allergic to peanuts—more than double the figure just five years ago.

In response to this Allergy Medical has developed a Peanut Program that can prevent “high risk” infants from ever developing a peanut allergy. Clinical trials proved safe and led to an 81% reduction in the subsequent development of the allergy.

If your baby is between 4-11 months and has eczema, allergy (or a family history of), they may be eligible to take part in the Allergy Medical Peanut Program. Contact us to find out more.

Sources: allergy.org.au, allergicliving.com