Allergy advocacy organizations disappointed by updated USDA WIC guidelines
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Key takeaways:
- USDA updated WIC to include more fruits and vegetables and food variety.
- Allergy organizations express disappointment in lack of early allergen introduction.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service has updated its Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children — or WIC — program, but two food allergy advocacy groups are disappointed with the changes.
WIC provides packages of prescribed foods and beverages designed to supplement participants’ diets and fill in nutritional gaps to support healthy growth and development.
The updates include science-based revisions stemming from recommendations from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025.
“We’ve made changes to the amounts and types of foods prescribed to WIC participants to best support their health, like increasing access to essential nutrients by providing more fruits and vegetables and expanding options for greater variety,” a U.S. Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (USDA) spokesperson told Healio.
“We also made adjustments to better accommodate participant’s personal and cultural food preferences and special dietary needs,” the spokesperson said.
Other updates include expanding whole grain options, dairy products as well as non-dairy substitutions, canned fish, dried beans, and the amount of infant formula provided to partially breastfed infants.
“USDA’s updates to the WIC food packages provide participants more flexibility, variety and choice,” the spokesperson said. “Collectively, these changes not only align with the latest science to best support nutritional needs but are also designed to make the program more appealing to participants.”
However, organizations that champion early allergen supplementation and emphasize the need to intervene in the development of childhood food allergies expressed disappointment in the updated guidelines.
“We are disappointed that the USDA Food and Nutrition Service did not include peanut-containing foods in its 2024 update to infant food packages served through the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children,” Lynda Mitchell, MA, CAE, CEO of Allergy & Asthma Network, told Healio. “Allergy & Asthma Network had joined other patient advocacy groups in urging USDA to support including peanut-containing products in the infant food packages.”
Healio asked the USDA why peanuts were not included in the guidelines.
“The WIC food packages are designed to fill nutritional gaps in participants’ diets by providing specific nutrients via specific foods and beverages,” the spokesperson said. “Except for infants under 6 months of age, the packages are not intended to provide all the foods and beverages a participant needs for a complete diet; rather, they’re intended to build on (ie, supplement) what participants already eat and drink to provide a balanced and nutritious diet that supports healthy growth and development.”
The spokesperson explained that when an applicant applies for WIC benefits, a nutrition assessment is conducted to individually tailor supplements to the participant’s needs.
“Substitutions, modifications and/or eliminations of food types can be made to accommodate a participant’s special dietary needs or cultural and personal preferences,” the spokesperson said.
According to Allergy & Asthma Network, introducing peanuts to babies has the potential to prevent approximately 34,000 cases of peanut allergies per year among WIC recipients alone.
“The practice is supported by science and recommended in the current USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans, as well as the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the American Academy of Pediatrics,” Mitchell said.
The exclusion of peanuts from WIC can also disproportionately impact families that are under-resourced and worsen health inequity, Mitchell continued.
WIC served approximately 39% of all infants born in the United States in 2022, USDA reported. Also, food packages are required to be reviewed once every 10 years, Mitchell added.
“Decisions made now will have an impact on peanut allergy prevalence in babies receiving WIC benefits for decades to come,” Mitchell said.
Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) also expressed dismay with the decision.
“FARE is extremely disappointed that USDA did not include infant-safe peanut products in WIC’s infant food packages and embrace the strong, scientific evidence-based recommendation that early introduction of peanut in the diet of infants can prevent a life-long food allergy,” Robert Earl, MPH, RDN, FAND, vice president of regulatory affairs at FARE, told Healio.
“USDA and [Food and Nutrition Service] punted at best on early introduction of peanut in the diet of infants to reduce food allergy,” Earl continued. “It is incomprehensible that the agency can state that it is out of their scope when the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans clearly supports early introduction of infant-safe peanut products to prevent peanut allergy.”
Both organizations hope the USDA will consider food allergy prevention in the future and applaud the updated variety and specificity that WIC can now offer to participants.
“USDA will allow WIC state agencies to broaden food packages to accommodate special dietary needs, including those who develop or have a food allergy,” Mitchell said. “The food packages will also accommodate personal and cultural preferences, also a positive development.”
“FARE believes that accommodations for substitutions for women and children with existing food allergies are better addressed in the respective revised WIC food packages,” Earl said. “However, USDA could go further. FARE’s hope is that consideration for additional substitutions be a charge to the next NASEM WIC food package review panel.”
References:
- Biden-Harris administration announces finalized science-driven updates to foods provided through WIC. https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2024/04/09/biden-harris-administration-announces-finalized-science-driven. Published April 9, 2024. Accessed April 25, 2024.
- FARE comments on WIC final rule and its impact on food allergy families. https://www.foodallergy.org/media-room/fare-comments-wic-final-rule-and-its-impact-food-allergy-families. Published April 12, 2024. Accessed April 25, 2024.
- WIC program. https://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/wic-program/. Updated: Feb. 20, 2024. Accessed: April 26, 2024.