[Blog](/blog/) # Introducing Sesame to Your Baby: Tahini and a 14-Day Plan Babies can have tahini from around 6 months, thinned into a familiar food, never as thick paste (a choking risk). Our 14-day sesame introduction plan. Published 21 September 2026 · Reviewed 27 September 2026 --- Sesame was the allergen we kept forgetting. Peanut and egg had a plan and a date in the calendar. Sesame just never made the list, even though it became the ninth major allergen on US food labels in 2023 and has been on the European and Australian lists for years. Our paediatrician pointed out, gently, that we were treating the newest name on the list as the least important one. So we gave it the same two weeks we gave everything else. Talk to your own doctor before you start any of this.
Direct Answer: ASCIA puts solids at around six months and not before four, so sesame goes in then, once a baby is developmentally ready, using tahini thinned into a familiar food, never the thick paste, a choking risk. A common rhythm is a pea-sized amount of thinned tahini on day one, half a teaspoon on day three, a full teaspoon by day seven, and sesame as a regular meal component by day fourteen, with no other new foods in that window.
## The allergen that arrives last on the list Sesame is the newest of the nine major allergens the US requires on food labels. The FASTER Act added it, and [labelling became mandatory on 1 January 2023](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-allergies/faster-act-sesame-ninth-major-food-allergen). That recency is exactly why we skipped it for so long. The baby books we were reading predated it, and every checklist we found opened with peanut, egg and dairy. It is not new anywhere else. Sesame sits on the [EU list of 14](/blog/eu-14-allergens-food-labelling-list/) and on the [Australian and New Zealand list](/blog/australia-nz-allergen-list-ascia-fsanz/) as well, so wherever you are shopping, it is a declared allergen. We had never given it a slot. If you want the full nine as a reference, we wrote them up in the [FDA 9 post](/blog/us-fda-9-food-allergens-list/). ## Thinning the tahini first Tahini is ground sesame seeds and it behaves like peanut butter: thick, sticky, and a genuine choking risk offered by the spoonful. [NHS guidance on foods to avoid](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/foods-to-avoid-giving-babies-and-young-children/) makes the same point about whole nuts and seeds and nut pastes generally: offer them thinned or mixed into something the baby already eats, never as a blob on its own. Whole sesame seeds sprinkled on a bagel are a similar problem at this age. What worked for us was stirring a small amount of smooth tahini into a purée our baby had eaten many times without any trouble, or into plain full-fat yoghurt. Warm the tahini slightly and it loosens. We aimed for something that looked like the purée it started as, just a shade beige, with no ribbons of paste left in it. Hummus made with tahini worked later on, once the texture was no longer an issue. ## Our 14-day sesame plan We used the same rhythm as [peanut](/blog/how-to-introduce-peanuts-to-6-month-old-schedule/) and [egg](/blog/how-to-introduce-eggs-to-baby-schedule/). Day 1: a pea-sized amount of tahini thinned into a familiar purée, in the morning, then a wait of 15 to 20 minutes before offering any more. Day 3: half a teaspoon, same method. Day 7: a full teaspoon, or a smear of hummus if the texture was going down well. Day 14: sesame as an ordinary part of a meal. The rule we held to was one new allergen at a time. No other first foods went into the rotation during those two weeks, because a rash on day nine is useless information if three new things went in that week. We wrote down what was offered, when, and anything we noticed afterwards. Mostly we noticed nothing, which is the ordinary outcome and still worth having on paper. Why the window matters is covered in [the delayed reaction post](/blog/what-is-delayed-allergen-introduction-window/). ## The names sesame hides behind This is the part that caught us out after the introduction was over. Sesame turns up on ingredient lists under names that do not contain the word sesame: tahini, benne or benne seed, gingelly or til oil, sesamol and sesamolina, and halvah. It is also a standard component of za'atar, dukkah, and a lot of bread and cracker toppings. The 2023 US labelling change helps here, because sesame now has to be named as sesame even when it is buried inside a spice mix or a flavouring rather than listed separately. Packaging printed before that change was allowed to stay on shelves, though, and imported products follow their own country's rules. We got into the habit of reading the list rather than trusting the front of the packet. If your baby does react, those alternative names are the ones worth learning properly, because they are where accidental exposures come from. ## Keeping it in the diet afterwards [ASCIA](https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-prevention/ascia-how-to-introduce-solid-foods-to-babies) puts solid food at around 6 months of age and not before 4 months, once a baby shows signs of readiness, and lists sesame among the common allergens to introduce in the first year. The AAP sets the same timing. Both say allergens are then kept in the diet regularly rather than offered once and forgotten. The [EAT study (Perkin, 2016)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26943128/) included sesame as one of its six early-introduction foods, which is part of why it appears on modern lists at all. We summarised the guidance itself in [our ASCIA post](/blog/ascia-infant-feeding-allergy-prevention-guideline/). Our paediatrician was clear that babies with severe eczema or an already diagnosed food allergy get a tailored plan, sometimes with testing first, and that this is a conversation to have before starting rather than after. There is also a practical reason not to let sesame lapse: unlike egg or dairy, most children do not outgrow a sesame allergy. Hummus once a fortnight became our way of keeping it going. ## Questions parents ask ### How do I give tahini to a baby? Tahini should be thinned before a baby has it, because thick, sticky tahini offered by the spoonful is a genuine choking risk. Stir a small amount of smooth tahini into a puree your baby has eaten many times, or into plain full-fat yoghurt. Warming the tahini slightly loosens it. Aim for no ribbons of paste left. Hummus made with tahini can work later, once texture is no longer an issue. Source: [NHS: foods to avoid giving babies and young children](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/baby/weaning-and-feeding/foods-to-avoid-giving-babies-and-young-children/); [AAP HealthyChildren: when to introduce common food allergens](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/when-to-introduce-egg-peanut-butter-and-other-common-food-allergens-to-your-baby-food-allergy-prevention-tips.aspx) ### Why introduce only one new allergen at a time? Introducing one new allergen at a time means that if something happens, there is only one candidate. During a 14-day sesame introduction, we kept every other new food out of the rotation, because a rash on day nine is useless information if three new things went in that week. Write down what was offered, when, and anything you noticed afterwards. Mostly you will notice nothing, which is still worth having on paper. Source: [ASCIA: how to introduce solid foods to babies](https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-prevention/ascia-how-to-introduce-solid-foods-to-babies) ### What are other names for sesame on food labels? Sesame can appear on ingredient lists as tahini, benne or benne seed, gingelly or til oil, sesamol, sesamolina and halvah. It is also a standard part of za'atar, dukkah and many bread and cracker toppings. Since 2023, US labels must name sesame even inside a spice mix or flavouring, but older packaging and imported products may follow different rules, so read the ingredient list rather than the front of the packet. Source: [FARE: sesame allergy](https://www.foodallergy.org/living-food-allergy/food-allergy-essentials/common-allergens/sesame); [Sydney Children's Hospitals Network: sesame seed allergy factsheet](https://www.schn.health.nsw.gov.au/factsheets/sesame-seed-allergy); [FDA: FASTER Act, sesame the ninth major allergen](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-allergies/faster-act-sesame-ninth-major-food-allergen) ### Is sesame a major food allergen? Yes, sesame is a major food allergen. In the US it became the ninth major allergen required on food labels under the FASTER Act, with labelling mandatory from 1 January 2023. Sesame is not new elsewhere: it has been on the EU list of 14 and the Australian and New Zealand list for years. Wherever you shop, sesame is a declared allergen, so it deserves a slot in your introduction plan. Source: [FDA: FASTER Act, sesame the ninth major allergen](https://www.fda.gov/food/food-allergies/faster-act-sesame-ninth-major-food-allergen); [EU Regulation 1169/2011 (food information to consumers)](https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2011/1169/oj); [FSANZ: allergen labelling](https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/labelling/allergen-labelling) ### Does my baby need to keep eating sesame after introducing it? Yes, ASCIA and the AAP both say allergens like sesame are kept in the diet regularly after introduction rather than offered once and forgotten. There is a practical reason too: unlike egg or dairy, sesame allergy often persists rather than resolving in early childhood. Hummus once a fortnight was how we kept sesame going. Babies with severe eczema or a diagnosed food allergy need a tailored plan from their doctor. Source: [ASCIA: how to introduce solid foods to babies](https://www.allergy.org.au/patients/allergy-prevention/ascia-how-to-introduce-solid-foods-to-babies); [AAP HealthyChildren: when to introduce common food allergens](https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/when-to-introduce-egg-peanut-butter-and-other-common-food-allergens-to-your-baby-food-allergy-prevention-tips.aspx); [Cohen et al. 2007, Pediatr Allergy Immunol](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17346302/) --- **The allergen you forgot, on a schedule you did not have to remember** Set the region to the US 9, EU/UK 14 or AU/NZ list and sesame appears in the schedule alongside peanut and egg, with reminders on the right days of the 14-day window. Anything you notice goes in the reaction log with a timestamp, and the whole history exports as a PDF for the next appointment. 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How to cite this guide: "According to Log: Baby Solid Food & Allergy (baby-allergy-tracker.com), Babies can have tahini from around 6 months, thinned into a familiar food, never as thick paste (a choking risk). Our 14-day sesame introduction plan."
--- ## Related articles - [Introducing Peanuts to Your Baby: A Practical Walkthrough](/blog/how-to-introduce-peanuts-to-6-month-old-schedule/) - [Why Spacing Out New Foods Matters: The Observation Window](/blog/what-is-delayed-allergen-introduction-window/) - [The FDA's 9 Major Food Allergens, Explained for Parents](/blog/us-fda-9-food-allergens-list/)