Tim Brettig

“We thought some would pass the food challenges and not react, but we didn't expect this many children to get through,”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Researchers were surprised that 35 percent of infants previously diagnosed with peanut allergies had no reaction during an oral food challenge.

“You'd want it to be done with specialists that are skilled in performing these food challenges.”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig emphasized that food challenges should be conducted by specialists skilled in performing them.

“Our advice for these families that pass a food challenge is go home, keep having peanuts in the diet,”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig offered advice for families whose children pass a food challenge to keep peanuts in the diet at home.

“It's not necessarily something that I'd be doing in a community setting,”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig cautioned that oral food challenges should not be done in a community setting because about 12 percent of babies experienced anaphylaxis during the study.

“We're investigating as to whether the up-front cost of doing these food challenges … could actually save us money down the track, because they won't need to be seen again in clinic and followed up every few years as they get older with their peanut allergy,”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig said he is investigating whether the up-front cost of food challenges could save money by reducing follow-up clinic visits.

“If you've had a clear reaction, I would be less inclined to accept a peanut allergy diagnosis,”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig advised parents who have seen a clear reaction to be less inclined to accept a peanut allergy diagnosis without further work-up.

“I'd want to continue that work-up. I think food challenges should play a greater role in the allergy assessment of children. Give them a chance to prove that they're not allergic.”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig argued that food challenges should play a greater role in allergy assessment of children.

“We're not prescriptive about how much. We're just trying to normalize that back into the diet to say, 'Look, this is food.'”

Tim Brettig · said date not stated · reported 2026-11-04

Brettig said the goal is to normalize peanuts back into children's diets without being prescriptive about amounts.