RFK Jr says he still doesn't think peanut allergies are exposure problem at food allergy event

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( NewsNation ) — Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kenney Jr. spoke at a food allergy foundation event today and said that he disagrees with a popular theory surrounding the increased level of peanut allergies in the U.S. over the past decades.

According to the National Institutes of Health , nearly .5% of kids around the world had a peanut allergy in 1997. Numbers have skyrocketed since then , with 2% of children being allergic to peanuts.

In response to a question about previous comments he made about whether a lack of early exposure to peanuts could have been driving the increase in peanut allergies,