Doctor develops 'Hello, Peanut!' packets to help prevent peanut allergies
LONG ISLAND, NY -- A Long Island doctor created a new product that gradually exposes babies to peanuts, in order to help prevent peanut allergies.
The product is called "Hello, Peanut!" Dr. David Erstein -- a father and allergist -- developed it.
"There are seven packets. Each packet is a blend of USDA organic peanut flour and sprouted oat flakes," said Erstein.
The amount of peanuts in each packet varies. Day one has a little bit, day two has a little bit more and so on and so forth over the course of seven days.
"What's nice about this product is it's a gradual process, a gradual introduction of peanut," Erstein said.
Over the last 10 to 15 years, the presence of peanut allergy has increased three fold in countries like the U.S. -- mainly because it's been common theory to not introduce peanuts to children until they're 3 years old.
But a study came out in 2015 that contradicted this, saying peanuts should be introduced to children as soon as possible. That's now the running theory and the idea behind the product.
"The research shows that continuing to eat peanut will help prevent a peanut allergy from developing," Erstein said.
That's why Hello, Peanut! also comes with maintenance packets which can be given to the child up to 3 times a week.
The FDA-approved flour is produced, packaged and distributed from a facility in Brooklyn. It is not intended for children who have a known peanut allergy.
