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Florida Protest Highlights Need for Food Allergy Education in Schools

Protests from parents over the measures taken by a Volusia County, Fla. school to manage life-threatening food allergies have underscored the need for food allergy education in our schools.

Parents of children enrolled at Edgewater Elementary School voiced their objections last week about the school’s procedures by calling the media and protesting with signs expressing their opinions that their children have rights too.

It is unfortunate to see a protest centered on safety procedures the county put in place. Studies have shown that living with a life-threatening food allergy can have a psychological impact, and a public display in this manner may have a detrimental effect on children with food allergies.

One of the main missions of FAAN (The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network) and FAI (The Food Allergy Initiative) is education. The importance of schools taking measures to save the lives of students with life-threatening food allergies cannot be overstated. While parents in Volusia County are concerned that protective measures are taking away from their children’s education, we are concerned about educating the community and helping families successfully manage food allergy. FAAN and FAI have many resources to assist with food allergy management in schools. These materials are helpful not only for those who care for a child with a food allergy, but for members of the community who do not fully understand the daily challenges of living with a food allergy.

FAAN is working with the school district to organize training for staff, and FAI is fully supportive of their efforts. Hundreds of schools throughout the U.S. have successfully implemented protocols for managing food allergy, and children with food allergies go to school safely every day with the support of the entire school community, and without controversy.

These schools have taken great care to implement food allergy guidelines based on appropriate proven methods to ensure the safety of their students, involving parents, teachers, health care providers, school nurses, food service staff, and school administrators who work together to do what’s right for the child.

FAAN and FAI are here to support schools and parents and to ensure that the proper steps are taken to keep children with food allergies safe. We are encouraged and hopeful that the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, which calls for voluntary national guidelines to help schools manage students with food allergies and was signed by President Obama earlier this year, will result in more schools implementing such guidelines.

For more information about food allergy education in schools, visit FAAN’s website, www.foodallergy.org or FAI’s website, www.faiusa.org.  

About the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI)

The Food Allergy Initiative is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that funds research seeking a cure for food allergies. FAI was founded in 1998 by concerned parents and grandparents to support basic and clinical research worldwide; public policies to increase federal funding for research and create safer environments for those afflicted; and educational programs to make the hospitality industry, schools, day care centers, and camps safer. The largest private source of funding for food allergy research in the United States, FAI has committed nearly $72 million toward the fulfillment of its mission. For more information, visit www.faiusa.org, call (212) 207-1974, or e-mail info@faiusa.org.

About FAAN

Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information, resources, and programs for food allergy, a potentially life-threatening medical condition that afflicts as many as 15 million Americans, including almost 6 million children. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN is dedicated to increasing public awareness of food allergy and its consequences, to educating people about the condition, and to advancing research on behalf of all those affected by it. FAAN provides information and educational resources about food allergy to patients, their families, schools, health professionals, pharmaceutical companies, the food industry, and government officials. On May 9, 2012, FAAN announced its intent to merge with the other leading food allergy organization, the Food Allergy Initiative, pending state regulatory approval. To become a member or for more information, please visit FAAN at www.foodallergy.org.

Media Contact

Nancy Gregory
Media Relations
(703) 563-3066
E-mail: ngregory@foodallergy.org