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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
More Than 100 Kids from Across U.S. to Lobby Congress May 1-2 on Behalf of Those with Food Allergies
Youth Ages 6-18 Coming from 25 States for FAAN Kids’ Congress on Capitol Hill
FAIRFAX, Va., April 26, 2007 – More than 100 children and teens from 25 different states will converge on Washington, D.C., May 1-2 to urge Congress to fund food-allergy research and enact food-allergy legislation for U.S. schools.
The youths, who range in age from 6-18, all have food allergies themselves, and are coming to Washington for the FAAN Kids’ Congress on Capitol Hill, which is organized by the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN).
An estimated 12 million Americans, or one in 25, have food allergies, according to FAAN. Food allergy is the leading cause of anaphylaxis (a severe and potentially fatal allergic reaction) outside the hospital setting, and results in more than 50,0001 emergency room visits each year. Eight foods account for 90 percent of all allergic reactions in the U.S.: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, etc.), wheat, soy, fish, and shellfish.
Food allergies are especially prevalent in children, among whom the incidence is increasing. “Until there’s a cure for food allergy, it’s critical that we all work together to protect these children,” says Anne Muñoz-Furlong, FAAN CEO and founder.
Among other things, the children coming to Washington will ask Congress to support the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act, which calls on the federal government to establish voluntary national guidelines for managing students with food allergies. They will also tell their own personal stories of what it’s like to live with a life-altering and potentially life-threatening condition.
The FAAN Kids’ Congress on Capitol Hill comes just days before Food Allergy Awareness Week, which runs from May 13-19. The focus of this year’s Food Allergy Awareness Week is on learning how to help those who have the condition avoid suffering a potentially fatal reaction.
You can find out more about the FAAN Kids’ Congress on Capitol Hill, Food Allergy Awareness Week, and food allergy in general by visiting FAAN’s website, www.foodallergy.org.
ABOUT FAAN
Founded in 1991, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is the world leader in information about food allergy, a potentially fatal condition that afflicts about 12 million Americans, or one out of every 25. A nonprofit organization based in Fairfax, Va., FAAN has 30,000 members in the U.S., Canada, and 62 other countries. It 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. For more information, please visit FAAN at www.foodallergy.org, www.faankids.org, and www.faanteen.org.
CONTACT:
Jennifer Love
Marketing and Media Communications Manager
(703) 563-3061 direct, (301) 639-4811 cell
jlove@foodallergy.org
1 Decker, W., Campbell, R., Manivannan, V., Luke, A., Sauver, J., Weaver, A., et al. (2008). Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 122, 1161-5.
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