House Appropriations Committee amendment requires peanuts in WIC food packages

Key takeaways:

• Adding peanut products to WIC food packages could drastically increase their early introduction into children’s diets.
• The bill has not yet passed the House of Representatives.

The House Appropriations Committee adopted an amendment that would require the inclusion of peanut-containing products into the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children.

Rep. Ben Cline (R-Virginia) proposed the amendment to the Fiscal Year 2025 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, which already fully funds the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program.

“NIH study findings show that [by] feeding children peanut products regularly during infancy beginning at 4 to 6 months of age, through 5 years of age, the rate of peanut allergy among infants declined by over 80%,” Cline told Healio.

“As an advocate for public health and child nutrition, and as a former chairman of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus, I am confident that including peanut-containing foods in WIC packages for early introduction is a crucial step towards preventing food allergies,” he continued. “This evidence-based change is essential for saving lives and reducing health care costs.”

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, WIC provides states with federal grants that aid low-income pregnant, breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding postpartum women in receiving supplemental foods, health care referrals and nutrition education. It also aids infants and children up to age 5 years who face nutritional risks. Current estimates by the USDA show that WIC serves 53% of all infants born in the U.S.

“The inclusion of the amendment by the House Appropriations Committee to a must-pass spending bill is just the first step of a long process that is expected to last a few more months as the bill will need to be approved by a majority of the U.S. House and, later, the U.S. Senate,” Jason LindeMA, senior vice president of advocacy for Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), told Healio.

The FDA, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend practicing early introduction of peanuts to children in order to prevent future peanut allergies, as do the American College of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology and the American Academy of Asthma, Allergy & Immunology.

“By including safe-to-consume peanut products in the WIC infant food packages, we can dramatically reduce the number of infants who will later develop a peanut allergy,” Linde added.

Numerous studies outside of the NIH also have shown that peanut introduction as early as infancy can have lasting protection against allergy development. Preventing the allergy has an economic benefit as well.

“A 2022 study found that a peanut allergy costs a family $7,261 in extra costs per child per year from ages 1 to 18,” Linde said. “Should the legislation pass, we can save hundreds of thousands of children and their families the pain and costs of a peanut allergy, generally a lifetime disease, not to mention eliminating the fear and anxiety that all food allergy families endure.”

The bill was introduced earlier this month but has yet to pass the House floor.

“This amendment has the potential to dramatically halt and stop the rise of peanut allergies in infants and children in every state, territory and in tribal organizations in the country,” Linde said. “There is no other legislative vehicle available to us that will have this much reach and impact, as we could change millions of lives for the better.”

References:

• FARE-championed amendment adopted by House Appropriations Committee moves peanut-containing foods a step closer to inclusion in WIC infant food packages. https://www.foodallergy.org/media-room/fare-championed-amendment-adopted-house-appropriations-committee-moves-peanut-containing. Published July 12, 2024. Accessed July 25, 2024.
• Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). https://www.fns.usda.gov/wic. Updated July 1, 2024. Accessed July 29, 2024.