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Senate to Hear Food Allergy Testimony

Senator Dodd gives the floor to food allergies for Food Allergy Awareness Week

FAIRFAX, Va., May 14, 2008 – As part of the 11th annual Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 11-17, Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), a senior member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee and Chairman of its Subcommittee on Children and Families, will chair a hearing on Wednesday, May 14, at 2:30 p.m. in 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building. This hearing will address the impact of food allergies on children and families, the rise in the number of children with food allergies, and the important legislation under consideration to help schools assure the safety of food-allergic children.

A strong supporter of food allergy awareness, Sen. Dodd is the author of S. 1232, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2007. Companion legislation, championed by Rep. Nita Lowey (D-N.Y.), was passed by the House of Representatives on April 8, 2008.

“At home, it’s much easier for parents to protect their children from foods that may cause severe, or even fatal, allergic reactions,” said Sen. Dodd. “But once they leave that safe environment, it becomes difficult to prevent their children from being exposed, even accidentally, to these commonly found foods.. That is why I am introducing legislation that would create voluntary federal guidelines concerning the management of life-threatening food allergies in schools. I look forward to hearing from witnesses at my hearing on Wednesday and discussing with them how we can best protect the dramatically increasing number of American children suffering from food allergies and help give them the safe and healthy learning environment that they deserve.” 

This hearing will help garner support for S. 1232, the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, which calls for voluntary, national guidelines to help schools safely manage students with food allergies. The national guidelines would address important issues such as reducing the risk of exposure to food allergens in school and ensuring that schools can promptly respond to a child experiencing a potentially fatal anaphylactic reaction. The legislation also calls for $30 million in grants to help schools implement the voluntary national guidelines.

“This is a wonderful first step toward ensuring that the 2.2 million school-age children with food allergy are safe at school,” said Anne Muñoz-Furlong, CEO and Founder of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN). “We are looking forward to working with Sen. Dodd on the Senate bill.”

Participants testifying at the Senate hearing will include Hugh Sampson, M.D., Director of the Jaffe Food Allergy Institute at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine and a member of the FAAN Medical Advisory Board; Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; Donna Kosiorowski, R.N., M.S., N.C.S.N., Supervisor of School Health for the West Haven School District in West Haven, Conn., and Connecticut Director of the National Association of School Nurses; Colene Birchfield, a parent from Ooltewah, Tenn.; and Teresa Walters, a parent from Aurora, Colo.

The hearing will be followed by a press conference in 430 Dirksen Senate Office Building.

Earlier during Food Allergy Awareness Week, FAAN sponsored an educational congressional staff briefing about food allergies. To learn more about Food Allergy Awareness Week, food allergy legislation, and food allergy in general, visit FAAN’s website, www.foodallergy.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