About the food allergy prevention project
The National Allergy Council (operating as the National Allergy Strategy at the time), received funding from the Australian government to implement a food allergy prevention project based on the ASCIA guidelines for infant feeding and allergy prevention. This project was informed by National Allergy Strategy Infant Feeding Implementation Meeting held in March 2017, which engaged key stakeholder organisations to guide the implementation process.
The project addresses two key components for food allergy prevention:
- Introducing the common allergy causing foods in the first year of life.
- Optimising eczema management to prevent sensitisation to foods through the skin.
This project aims to:
- Encourage parents to introduce the common allergy causing foods to their baby within the first year of life.
- Provide information and support to help parents feed their baby the common allergy causing foods.
- Provide an information and support line to help answer any questions parents may have about feeding their baby the common allergy causing foods, including questions from health professionals.
- Provide information and support to help parents manage their baby’s eczema to help prevent food allergy developing.
- Provide information and support for health professionals about current infant feeding recommendations to prevent babies developing food allergy.
- Provide information and support for health professionals about optimising eczema management to prevent food allergy developing.
- Provide answers to frequently asked questions about how to prevent food allergy.
- The Nip Allergies in the Bub website is an initiative of the National Allergy Council Food Allergy Prevention Project.
The National Allergy Council (operating as the National Allergy Strategy at the time), launched the pilot phase of the Food Allergy Prevention Project in August 2018. The project was piloted in Western Australia. A range of resources including the Nip allergies in the Bub website as an outcome of focus group engagement, were released. Feedback was collected from users to help improve the resources, prior to the national roll-out of the project.
In September 2019, the Food Allergy Prevention Project was launched nationally. The Nip allergies in the Bub website, a key component of this project, aims to:
- Provide practical information for parents about how to introduce the common food allergens and how to optimise eczema management, as well as provide information.
- Provide information and education resources for health professionals.
The food allergy prevention project and the resulting Nip allergies in the Bub resources were created in consultation with key stakeholder organisations.
If you would like more information about the food allergy prevention project, contact the National Allergy Council.
