Step 1: First tiny taste
Offer a small taste of smooth infant barley cereal or well-cooked mashed barley. Watch for concerning symptoms such as hives, swelling, vomiting, or breathing trouble, and seek urgent care if those occur.
Barley
Overview
Barley is a gluten-containing cereal and a Codex priority allergen. Barley can be introduced with other complementary foods around 6 months. Offer infant barley cereal or well-cooked mashable barley as a single new food. If your baby has severe eczema or a prior immediate food allergy, talk with a clinician before introducing highly allergenic foods.
Preparation
Offer barley as iron-fortified infant cereal mixed with breast milk, formula, or water until smooth, or as well-cooked mashable barley grains. Do not offer dry bread chunks to young infants. Do not put cereal in a bottle. Always supervise eating.
Three-step introduction
Step 2: Larger offer
If the first taste was tolerated, gradually offer a larger amount of the same preparation at a later feed.
Step 3: Include regularly
If tolerated, keep this food in the diet routinely as part of complementary feeding.
FAQ
When are babies usually ready for solid foods?
Complementary foods are typically introduced around 6 months of age, when the baby shows developmental readiness (for example, sitting with support, good head control, and swallowing food rather than pushing it out). Introducing solids before 4 months is not recommended.
When can barley be introduced?
Once your baby is ready for solid foods (typically around 6 months), barley can be introduced with other complementary foods. There is no evidence that delaying common allergens such as gluten-containing cereals prevents allergy.
How should I prepare barley for a baby?
Mix iron-fortified infant barley cereal with breast milk, formula, or water until smooth, or cook barley grains until very soft and mash them. Do not offer dry bread chunks to young infants. Do not put cereal in a bottle. Always supervise eating.
What if my baby has severe eczema or a prior food allergy?
If your baby has severe, persistent eczema or had an immediate allergic reaction to a food — especially a highly allergenic food — talk with your child’s pediatrician about how and when to introduce highly allergenic complementary foods such as barley.
Sources
- WHO Guideline for complementary feeding of infants and young children 6–23 months of age (2023)
- CDC — When, What, and How to Introduce Solid Foods
- FAO/WHO — Risk assessment of food allergens: Part 1 (Codex priority allergen list)
- FDA — Food Allergies (major food allergens / Big 9)
- AAP HealthyChildren — When to Introduce Egg, Peanut Butter & Other Common Food Allergens
- CDC — Infant and Toddler Nutrition FAQs