This is not the advice of UK health types, but according to a new review published in the Journal of Health Visiting and cited in Parent Dish, nutritionist Dr Juliet Gray, said mothers may be unwittingly putting their children at greater risk of allergy by an avoidance strategy.

She said research suggests delayed introduction of potential food allergens, such as eggs, during weaning may actually be counterproductive.
In contrast the introduction of these foods while breastfeeding, between the ages of 4-7 months, could protect against developing allergies to these foods.

Dr Gray said two trials are being carried out to test whether the approach works and two government committees are also reviewing the current advice on infant feeding and food allergy.

She said “Eggs are highly nutritious, containing key nutrients including high quality protein, vitamin D, selenium, choline and omega-3 fatty acids, several of which are not found in many other foods.

“Our review concluded that mums and their babies can be encouraged to eat eggs, as this could have a positive effect in terms of nutritional intake and may also help immune tolerance of eggs.

The British Egg Industry Council (BEIC) said the launch of a strict code of practice 15 years ago has been so successful that salmonella has been ‘effectively eliminated’, with 90 per cent of British eggs now laid by salmonella-vaccinated hens.
Each egg is stamped with a lion mark and a best-before date on the shell.

NHS Choices still advises pregnant women to avoid eating soft-boiled eggs, or giving them to babies after weaning because of the salmonella risk.

And just a fraction of babies are given eggs at six months because of allergy concerns.