Australian start-up Taste Bubs has launched an innovative solution to tackle child food allergies by promoting early exposure.
Founded by Dr Mariam Chaalan, a family general physician, and Dr Rob McLeod, a specialist in children’s health and early development, the Allergen Starter Pack is a four-week cycle program designed to safely and conveniently introduce seven of the most common food allergens (cashew, peanut, soy, egg, sesame, walnut, and almond) to babies.
Research has shown that Australia has the highest rate of food allergies among children globally, with 10 per cent of children under the age of one being affected. However, introducing allergens at an early stage can help lower the risk of developing a food allergy.
Dr Chaalan said the idea for the product came about after feeling overwhelmed and underinformed about introducing allergens to their children.
“Unfortunately, the outcomes were parents and carers delaying the introduction due to their fears or putting additional pressures on themselves and inadvertently causing unneeded stress and anxiety,” she said. “There wasn’t an easy introduction solution available on the market, so we created Taste Bubs.”
The company says allergens included in its starter pack are carefully selected based on current clinical guidelines and research on early allergen introduction.
Each pack contains 28 powdered allergen sachets with no sugars or additives that can be easily mixed into age-appropriate baby food, such as puree, mash or cereals. Each sachet is pre-portioned for a “stress-free” early allergen introduction.
This story first appeared on our sister publication Inside FMCG
