By Emmy Powell
Communications Specialist

The National Peanut Board (NPB) is investing $2.5 million in food allergy research to support work led by Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE).

The funding will support FARE’s Mind Meld initiative, a collaborative research model designed to accelerate progress in understanding and treating food allergies.

“Food allergy is a serious, life-threatening disease of the immune system that impacts more than 33 million people in the United States,” said FARE CEO Sung Poblete. “By bringing together the leading scientists in immunology, Mind Meld is designed to identify pathways to retrain the immune system, so it no longer attacks food proteins and carbohydrates, recognizing them for what they are. In many ways, this work builds on and reverse engineers advances made in cancer research, and we believe it will lead to a cure for food allergy.”

The Mind Meld connects leading scientists in immunology to focus on translating research discoveries into real-world treatments. The approach aims to retrain the immune system, so it no longer treats food proteins as harmful.

“We have already seen the impact we can have on big breakthroughs such as evidence-based Early Introduction practices,” said Ryan Lepicier, NPB president and CEO. “Now, we see an opportunity to advance the level of breakthroughs in food allergy, joining a larger collaborative model with FARE’s Mind Meld initiative. We hope that other commodity organizations and partners across the food system will share this vision and join us in advancing this important work.”

The investment is part of a five-year commitment totaling $500,000 annually and builds on decades of research to better understand and combat peanut allergies.

Since 2001, NPB has invested nearly $43 million to support research, education and outreach on food allergies.

“This board identified early on that peanut allergy was going to be a huge issue and something we wanted to take on,” NPB Vice Chair Jeff Roper told the Texas Farm Bureau Radio Network.

He said the new initiative reflects the industry’s continued commitment to advancing solutions.

“We’ve invested a lot of money over the years to attack food allergy, and this is just the next step to try to accelerate that work,” said Roper, who grows conventional and organic peanuts, grain sorghum, cotton and wheat in Plains.

NPB-supported research has already contributed to major breakthroughs, including early introduction practices for infants. Studies have shown that introducing peanut products to babies between four and six months of age can significantly reduce the likelihood of developing a peanut allergy.

“Some of the significance through the years is partnering with research that found early introduction can significantly reduce allergies in infants,” he said. “We’re continuing that work now to try to find a cure.”

Funding for the initiative comes from peanut growers through a national checkoff program.

FARE plans to release a request for proposals later this year to support the next phase of research funded through the initiative, and leaders hope the investment will encourage additional partners across the food system to join the effort.

“We see an opportunity to advance the level of breakthroughs in food allergy,” Roper said. “By working together, we hope to move closer to a cure.”