The Australian federal government’s Nip Allergies in the Bub initiative is part of the National Allergy Strategy.
The idea is to help prevent the development of food allergies by giving babies common allergy-causing foods before the age of one. These include wheat, soy, peanut, fish, sesame, tree nuts and egg.
The campaign says typical allergy-causing foods should be introduced at around six months, but not before four months of age, with overlapping breastfeeding also encouraged.
In good news for parents, research suggests that common allergy causing foods are suitable for all babies, whether there’s a family history of food allergy or not.
Brookfarm’s Bloom
In line with this latest research, Byron Bay food producer Brookfarm recently launched an organic baby cereal range called Bloom, with a focus on introducing fine ground nuts to babies so they’re exposed to allergens from a young age.
CEO Will Brook, was delighted to announce the Bloom range, which includes three different varieties.
‘With my kids, I wanted their first foods to be real food, but so much of what was on offer was essentially spray dried rice,’ he said.
‘This started us down the journey of developing a baby food that isn’t spray dried, but uses whole food ingredients. Our kids deserve to eat real food, with real ingredients and real nutritional value.
‘My wife Jess and I believe that kids should eat real food, the food that we eat ourselves – just ground down for their little tummies,’ said Will.
A word from the creator
Bloom was created by Will’s mum (and Brookfarm co-founder), Pam Brook, who’s still closely involved in the product development of all the company’s products.
‘Bloom is made from real food, ground fine – the way it used to be before food became overly processed,’ said Pam.
‘We make the kind of food a caring parent would make themselves at home for their baby. Our recipes come from our family kitchen – like everything we’ve ever produced.
‘As adults, we don’t eat single ingredient foods, so why should our children? Bloom introduces well balanced flavours in the right way and is a product that will help to build a babies’ palate.’
More information about Bloom is available from the Brookfarm website.
