Start-up Taste Bubs says its food allergen kit will help reduce the risk of children developing a food allergy by providing a safe and easy method to introduce common trigger foods.
Family GP Dr Mariam Chaalan and early childhood specialist Dr Rob McLeod said it was seeing parents and carers confused and overwhelmed about allergens that prompted them to develop Taste Bubs.
Chaalan said, “Unfortunately, parents and carers were delaying the introduction due to their fears or putting additional pressures on themselves and inadvertently causing unneeded stress and anxiety. There wasn’t an easy introduction solution available on the market, so that’s why we created Taste Bubs.”
The Taste Bubs Allergen Starter Pack is the first of its kind in Australia. It provides a four-week cycle program to introduce safely and conveniently seven of the most common food allergens to babies including cashew, peanut, egg, soy, sesame, almond, and walnut.
Each pack contains 28 powdered allergen sachets – with no additives or sugars – that can easily be mixed into age-appropriate baby food (purée, mash, cereals etc.)
Australian children are reported to have the highest prevalence of food allergy in the world, with 10 per cent of children aged under one having a proven food allergy.
Chaalan and McLeod said that research now shows an early introduction to allergens can help reduce the risk of developing a food allergy.
In 2015, the Learning About Peanut Allergy (LEAP) study caused a complete turnaround in preventing food allergies, by discovering early and regular peanut consumption achieved an 81 per cent reduction in the prevalence of peanut allergy at 5 years of age.
McLeod said, “The LEAP study universally changed how we think about allergies. Food allergies can be life-threatening, and they can develop at any time, so early and ongoing introduction of allergens is crucial in reducing the risk of food allergies in children.
“The current best practice guidelines recommend introducing all the common food allergens before 12 months of age.
“As doctors, we know how important it is to introduce common food allergens early on, but as parents, we also know how challenging and overwhelming it can be. We’ve done the research and simplified this process for parents.
“Taste Bubs delivers convenience, helping give parents the confidence to introduce their little ones to the seven most common food allergens as early as possible, in the safest possible way – without any added stress.”
Chaalan said, “We dove headfirst into research and development, testing every powdered allergen available to find the purest, most nutritious, and sustainable ingredients possible. With the help of a renowned food technologist, who also has food allergies, we finally found our perfect mix of ingredients and are excited to launch Taste Bubs to market.”
The pack is available from Taste Bubs website for RRP: $49.95.
