D.C. – As part of National Food Allergy Awareness Week, Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT), Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Children and Families, today convened a subcommittee hearing to examine the impact of food allergies on children and families.  Senator Dodd authored and introduced the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, a bill that addresses the critical need for uniform and consistent food allergy policies in our schools while providing them with the resources they need to implement them.   

“We learned a lot today from our witnesses about what steps Congress can take to help our schools safeguard the more than 3 million children who have food allergies in the United States,” said Dodd.  “There are 125,000 emergency room visits each year for food allergies, with over 3,000 resulting in hospitalizations and 100 to 200 deaths per year.  Such startling statistics worry us as parents – but they should also compel us to act, particularly when the health of children is at stake.  That is why I have written the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act – because Congress needs to ensure that schools have access to consistent, uniform food allergy guidelines and resources to actually carry them out”

For Senator Dodd, this is an issue that extends beyond his role as a member of the Senate HELP Committee.  His oldest daughter Grace has a severe food allergy that has sent her into anaphylactic shock four times. 

“It is a terrifying moment – one that does not get easier,” said Dodd.  “As parents, we had to come to grips with how to manage her condition.  We had to educate not simply ourselves but everyone in our daughter’s life – from her school and teachers, to her friends and their parents, to her babysitter.”

Earlier this week, Senator Dodd toured the cafeteria of Washington Elementary School in West Haven, Connecticut.  Dodd heard from school officials on how they protect students with food allergies, toured the “peanut-free” section of the cafeteria, and met with students with food allergies. 

The full text of Senator Dodd’s opening statement as prepared for delivery is below:

I want to welcome my colleagues and our distinguished witnesses for being here today.  Today’s hearing will focus on a growing and serious public health and safety challenge for our nation’s children, and that is food allergies.  The number of Americans with food allergies has nearly doubled in the past five years, from 6 million to more than 12 million.  The rates among children, especially young children, have similarly doubled.  Today more than 3 million children have food allergies and that number is growing.  And, regrettably, there is no cure for food allergies.

It is particularly fitting to be holding this hearing today because this week is National Food Allergy Awareness Week.   National Food Allergy Awareness Week is a time to reinvigorate our efforts to educate schools, parent, restaurants and the public about the dangers associated with food allergies and anaphylaxis.  It is my hope that today’s hearing will shed light on this growing national challenge.

For me, this is a personal challenge and one my wife Jackie and I face every single day.  Our daughter Grace has a severe food allergy, one that has sent her into anaphylactic shock four times.  She is only six years old.  As parents, we had to educate ourselves and everyone in our daughter’s life including her school and her teachers, her friends and their parents, and her babysitter. 

As we will hear from the parents that have joined us today, being the parent of a child with a food allergy means being in a constant state of vigilance.  It means having a plan in place at home and at school for avoiding contact with your child’s known allergy but being prepared to act immediately should they be accidentally exposed to an allergen.  The best known method of treatment for food allergies is strict avoidance of the foods to which children are allergic but even with the best of intentions, each year approximately 1 out of 4 persons with food allergies has an accidental exposure that leads to a food-induced allergic reaction.  And in some tragic situations, even the best laid plans may not be enough to save a child’s life.

While any food can potentially cause an allergic reaction, 8 foods account for 90 percent of all food allergy reactions.  They are peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.   These are extremely common foods in our society so avoiding them completely is a near impossibility, especially in settings outside the home.  Therefore information is crucial.

Information to consumers about the foods they eat is critical.  Congress took the first step toward improving the ingredient labeling of foods for allergens when it passed the Food Allergen and Consumer Protection Act in 2004.  Now it’s time for Congress to do more. 

Information to schools and school administrators is equally as important.  The schools where our children spend most of their days need the resources to implement plans for managing students’ food allergies within their four walls.  I believe this will require guidance from the federal government on best practices that schools can then tailor to their individual needs.  It will also take resources.  Many of our school districts lack the funding necessary to implement a food allergy management plan so if we are going to protect the health and safety of our children, we must provide an opportunity to make funds available to them. 

Some states are already doing this.  Connecticut and Tennessee, two of the states represented here, are among them.  Connecticut, I am proud to say, was the first state in the country to enact school-based guidelines concerning food allergies and the prevention of life-threatening incidents in schools.  This week, I had the great fortune to visit Washington Elementary School in West Haven where I learned about the programs they have put in place to protect the 16 students out of more than 390 who have food allergies.  It takes time.  It takes resources.  And it takes willingness on the part of the school and the parents to have an effective plan.

Several other states have passed laws developing school-based guidelines concerning food allergies including Massachusetts, Vermont, New Jersey, Arizona, Michigan and New York.  But, without Federal guidance, a child’s health and safety may be protected in one school but not in another.  Policies may vary even among schools within the same school district. 

I’ve introduced legislation (the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act) that will address the vital need for a uniform and consistent policy for schools with resources to help them act.  It is my hope that we can move this legislation as soon as possible. 

We have two outstanding panels of witnesses with us today.   To help us gain a better understanding of why we’ve seen such a dramatic increase in the number of children with food allergies and what kind of research is currently taking place, we will hear from Dr. Tony Fauci, who is the distinguished Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases at the National Institutes of Health.  We will also hear from Dr. Hugh Sampson, one of this country’s preeminent experts in food allergies from Mount Sinai Medical School in New York and the President of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology.

Many more leaders in the effort to raise public awareness and advocate for families suffering with food allergies are in the audience today.  I would especially like to take a moment to commend the work of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network, an organization with whom I have worked for many years.  One of their advocates from Connecticut is here with us today.  Mary Ericson and her son Kyle are in the audience.  They have been to my office in past years, sharing Kyle’s personal story with me and others in the Connecticut delegation about what life is like being a 10-year old with severe allergies to peanuts and tree nuts.  I would ask unanimous consent to put the written testimony of Kyle’s mom Mary in the record.

With that, I will turn to the Ranking Member of the Children and Families Subcommittee, my distinguished colleague Senator Alexander for his opening statement.

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