Give babies peanut butter before they turn one to help avoid allergies, authorities say
Parents should introduce foods like peanut butter to their baby's diet before they turn one-year-old to reduce their chance of developing food allergies, a new public health campaign recommends.
Australia has the highest rate of food allergies in the world — one in 10 babies born here is allergic to foods like peanuts, eggs and milk by their first birthday.
Paediatric immunologist Richard Loh, co-chair of the National Allergy Strategy (NAS), said the country's allergy rates are only getting worse.
"It's been increasing for the past 20 years," Dr Loh said.
Australian data has shown a rise of approximately 7 per cent a year for the past five years, in terms of food allergies.
