Food Labels: Gaps on Dairy, Egg; Better on Peanut

Food Allergy: Unreliable Labels

A Patch for Peanut Allergies?

Researchers who are working to find a way to treat food allergies have their sights on the next target – desensitization through the skin. 

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Peanut Allergy: Peanut Patch

Revised Food Allergy Action Plan Online

In time for the first day of school in many districts, FAAN’s Food Allergy Action Plan (FAAP) has been revised for ease of use and includes visual instructions for various epinephrine auto-injectors. Remember to have your child’s doctor complete the FAAP before school starts and make sure the school keeps a copy on file.

National Institutes of Health Expands Food Allergy Research Program

FAAN is pleased to share with you some encouraging news on the food allergy research front – federal funding for studies conducted by the Consortium of Food Allergy Research (CoFAR) has been renewed for an additional five years.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has committed to a nearly $30 million grant for CoFAR, which was established in 2005, to enable CoFAR to continue to work on developing treatments for food allergy. CoFAR also is expanding its area of focus to include food allergy-associated eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases(EGIDs) and to study the genetic causes of food allergy.

More information is available on the NIH website.

Deadline for Comments to DOT on Airline Rules-August 9

Despite the fact that the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has recently stated that it cannot use federal funding to implement or enforce a regulation concerning the distribution of peanuts on airlines, the agency is still accepting public comments regarding this issue.

FAAN is hopeful that if enough comments are submitted, DOT will investigate further by initiating a study into the risk of airborne allergic reactions to peanuts on commercial airlines. Deadline for the comments is Monday, Aug. 9. 

To see the initial clarifying statement from the DOT, FAAN’s public comment, and comments from other members of the public, visit FAAN’s online Legislative Action Center. From there you can easily link to theregulations.gov website, where comments are collected. 

Cute bracelet for kids that helps raise awareness

Allerbling - New Food Allergy Awareness Bracelet

(From Website) Allerbling^TM is a visual educational tool and a conversation piece that has the potential to save children’s lives by raising awareness of a child’s food allergies. Allerbling^TM is cute and approachable, so kids will want to wear it. Yet it is clearly marked as a medical product for children’s caregivers. It displays the iconic symbols of the food products that are risky to the children, so their teachers and caregivers can be constantly reminded at a glance. We believe the Allerbling^TM wristband will help young children, ages three and up; as they learn to read and talk about the ingredients in the food they eat; and what is not safe for them. It is a product that reduces children’s health risk and that is no child’s play!

Should Airlines Ban Peanuts?

On Wednesday, June 2nd, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) proposed new consumer protections for air travelers. Included in the summary are three options that would provide greater access to air transportation to persons with peanut allergies. The DOT is soliciting comments from the public on the several proposed approaches.  See more details about the proposal:  Regulations.gov To submit a comment here by August 9. Regulations.gov