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I wrote to Washington State Senator Maria Cantwell asking for support for
the Food Allergen Protection Act (S. 2499)  Here is her response.
Valerie 

Thank you for contacting me to express your support for legislation
requiring the labeling of food that contains known allergens.  I
appreciate hearing from you and I apologize for the delay in my response.

As you know, approximately five to seven percent of children and one
percent of adults in the United States have clinically proven allergic
reactions to food.  Food allergies, which affect more than seven million
Americans, can cause deadly reactions such as an inability to breathe or
the loss of blood circulation even when only trace amounts of the allergen
are consumed.

Because there is no cure for food allergies, the only way to prevent an
allergic reaction is to avoid the problem food.  Unfortunately, the task
of identifying products containing even the most common allergens can
prove difficult.  Currently, ingredients that may cause allergic reactions
are listed on food labels using many different terms that are often
difficult to understand.  Terms such as "natural flavorings" may mean that
nut or milk products have been used.  Similarly, manufacturers frequently
use chemical terms for ingredients that are not readily recognizable as an
allergen to consumers.  Even though an allergy sufferer and parents of
allergy sufferers may be alert to the numerous terms that identify a given
allergen, other caretakers of young allergy sufferers, such as teachers,
team coaches, and baby sitters are frequently not aware that these terms
are allergen indicators and may inadvertently expose an allergic child to
an allergen.

In May 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration initiated voluntary
Food Allergen Labeling Guidelines to encourage manufacturers to provide
clear, plain English information alerting consumers to the presence of
major allergens in a product.  Senator Kennedy recently introduced the
Food Allergen Consumer Protection Act (S. 2499), which would require
companies to label food products containing known food allergens including
milk, eggs, fish, crustacea, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and
their derivatives, as well as other grains containing gluten.  I believe
that consumers with allergies should be able to determine easily whether a
food product is safe to consume.  For this reason, I am carefully
reviewing this legislation with the intent of cosponsoring the bill.  I
will monitor the actions of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and
Pensions Committee, which is expected to conduct a hearing on this bill in
the near future and will alert you to any action I take regarding this
legislation.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts with me.
Please do not hesitate to contact me in the future if I may be of
additional assistance.

Sincerely,

Maria Cantwell
United States Senator

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *