Together for Allergy Solutions Through Engagement: The TASTE Study

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  Co-design of a Dietary Public Health Intervention for the Prevention of IgE-mediated Food Allergy

• IRAS ID

  359608

• Contact name

  Tom Marrs

• Contact email

  tom.marrs@nhs.net

• Sponsor organisation

  Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 3 months, 2 days

• Research summary

  Food allergies affect about 7% of 1-year-olds in England, with higher rates in ethnic minority groups. Common allergens include egg, milk, and peanut. Regularly giving babies these foods can help prevent allergies, but many parents, especially from ethnic minority backgrounds, are worried about offering them to their baby.

  Many parents think their baby has a food allergy even when there hasn't been a reaction. When babies have eczema (which affects 1 in 4), parents often think this is caused by a food allergy. This worry leads to expensive special diets and more doctor visits.

  Our project aims to help parents from different cultures feel confident about feeding common allergens to their babies.

  We are working with local community organisations to:
  - interview families about how they make feeding decisions for their babies
  - ensure that at least 8 families have South Asian ancestry, and at least 8 families have African and/or Caribbean ancestry
  - create helpful guidance based on what we lean
  - share how this guidance was created with the communities involved through community centres and parent groups

  We are making sure people from these communities are involved in every step of the project to ensure our guidance is useful and trustworthy.

• REC name

  East of Scotland Research Ethics Service REC 1

• REC reference

  26/ES/0004

• Date of REC Opinion

  11 Mar 2026

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion