When to introduce allergens to baby: what the guidance says

US guidance puts it at about 6 months, alongside your baby's other first foods, with a separate track for babies at higher risk of peanut allergy. This post summarizes what three official sources say, as of October 2026, and adds no advice of its own.

The three sources are the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025 to 2030, the American Academy of Pediatrics guide to starting solid foods, and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) guidelines for preventing peanut allergy.

The general rule: about 6 months, with other foods

The Dietary Guidelines say to introduce potentially allergenic foods, including nut butters, eggs, shellfish and wheat, with other complementary foods at about 6 months. In the same line, they say to ask your baby's health care professional about your baby's risk for food allergies and safe ways to introduce these foods.

The AAP comes at it from the other direction. Its starting solids guide says there is no evidence that waiting to introduce baby-safe soft foods, such as eggs, dairy, soy, peanut products or fish, beyond 4 to 6 months of age prevents food allergy.

The same AAP guide says to introduce one single-ingredient new food every 3 to 5 days and to look out for any reactions. The Dietary Guidelines do not address this pacing.

Peanut has its own guidance

All three sources treat peanut separately, and all three sort babies by eczema and egg allergy.

NIAID's peanut guidelines grew out of a clinical trial called LEAP. NIAID's summary for parents says the trial followed more than 600 infants at high risk because of severe eczema, egg allergy, or both, and found that eating peanut-containing foods regularly from early in life reduced the risk of developing peanut allergy by 81 percent.

NIAID's guidelines then sort babies into three groups:

• Severe eczema, egg allergy, or both. NIAID says these conditions increase the risk of peanut allergy and recommends introducing peanut-containing foods as early as 4 to 6 months. It says to check with your baby's health care provider first, who may choose to do an allergy blood test or refer your baby to a specialist for other tests, such as a skin prick test. NIAID says those results help decide whether peanut should be introduced and, if so, the safest way to do it.
• Mild to moderate eczema. NIAID suggests these babies may have peanut-containing foods introduced around 6 months of age, with your family's dietary preferences in mind.
• No eczema or food allergy. NIAID suggests peanut-containing foods can be freely introduced at home, in an age-appropriate manner, together with other solid foods.

NIAID also says to introduce other solid foods before trying peanut-containing foods, and that infants and small children should never be given whole peanuts because of the risk of choking.

Where the sources differ

The sources differ on some details, mostly for babies with eczema. These are the two that matter most.

• Testing for high-risk babies. The AAP says testing for peanut allergy is recommended for babies with severe eczema, egg allergy, or both. NIAID says the provider may choose to test. The Dietary Guidelines say to talk with your health care professional about peanut introduction as early as 4 to 6 months, and do not mention testing.
• Mild to moderate eczema. The Dietary Guidelines say to introduce peanut-containing foods at around 6 months. NIAID says these babies may have peanut introduced around then, and that if peanut is not a regular part of your family's diet, you need not feel compelled to introduce it that early.

Which group your baby is in, and whether testing makes sense, is a question for your pediatrician. NIAID says your child's health care provider can tell you whether their eczema is mild to moderate.

How current each source is

The three documents were written at different times. The AAP page was last updated on June 23, 2026. The Dietary Guidelines cover 2025 to 2030. NIAID's peanut guidelines were published in January 2017, and NIAID's guidelines page was last reviewed on October 24, 2018. It is worth knowing which one you are reading.

What this summary leaves out

This post deliberately does not cover how to prepare peanut or other allergenic foods for a baby, how much to give, or what an allergic reaction looks like. The sources above send those questions to a health care provider, and the Dietary Guidelines name "safe ways to introduce these foods" as one of the things to ask about.

For the rest of what the Dietary Guidelines say about the first years, see our summary of the guidelines for infants and toddlers.

Common questions

Which foods count as allergenic?

The Dietary Guidelines name nut butters, eggs, shellfish and wheat as examples of potentially allergenic foods. The AAP names eggs, dairy, soy, peanut products and fish when it says that waiting does not prevent food allergy. Both sources give these as examples, not as complete lists.

Does my baby need an allergy test before trying peanut?

According to NIAID, it depends on the group. For babies with severe eczema, egg allergy, or both, NIAID says to check with the provider first, who may test. For babies with no eczema or food allergy, NIAID says peanut-containing foods can be introduced freely at home. The AAP recommends testing for the high-risk group. Your pediatrician can tell you which group applies.

Why do some sources say 4 to 6 months?

The Dietary Guidelines and NIAID give 4 to 6 months for babies at high risk of peanut allergy, and both tie it to a conversation with a health care provider. For potentially allergenic foods in general, the Dietary Guidelines say about 6 months, with other complementary foods.

Does this replace my pediatrician's advice?

No. Every source here sends parents to a health care provider on allergy risk. NIAID describes its own parent summary as a starting point for conversations with your baby's provider.

The short version

The Dietary Guidelines say to introduce allergenic foods at about 6 months, with other foods, and the AAP says waiting longer does not prevent allergy. Peanut is sorted by eczema and egg allergy, and for the highest-risk babies every source starts with a conversation with a health care provider.