Australian researchers have released world-first findings from a study which analysed the diets of 2,500 Victorian infants to track childhood food allergy prevalence and causes. They found infants who were introduced to egg after 12 months of age had triple the risk of egg allergy at 14-18 months of age than those given egg at four to six months of age, irrespective of whether they had a family history of allergy.

Feeding infants egg that had been boiled, scrambled, fried or poached appeared more protective against allergy than feeding egg in the baked form such as in cakes and biscuits. Of babies aged four to six months who were introduced to cooked egg, just 5.6 per cent developed egg allergy compared with 27.6 per cent of those introduced to cooked egg after 12 months.

The duration of breast-feeding and age at introduction of solids were not found to be associated with egg allergy.

The lead researchers, Associate Professor Katie Allen from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Jennifer Koplin from the University of Melbourne believe their results support early introduction of allergenic foods as a means to protect children against allergies. They suggest previous recommendations to delay the introduction of allergenic foods such as egg, peanut and nuts until up to two to three years of age may have contributed to the increased prevalence of food allergy.