<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

A second try to make a copy that is easier to read.

Please note, this is a two part communication. The first is this message, and
the second is titled Sample Letter to Write to Congress - 2nd Part


Take Action! Join in this cause before it is too late!

We can influence the wording of a bill before it is presented to Congress. In
order for the bill to meet the needs of persons with celiac disease, we must
ask for additional wording. The best way to influence and effect this change
is a mass mailing of letters to your congressional representatives and
senators - NOW!

In response to the food allergies article in the April 2001 issue of
Nutrition Action Healthletter and subsequent article and editorial in The New
York Times, Representative Nita M. Lowey (D-NY) and Senator Edward M. Kennedy
(D-MA) have announced they plan to introduce legislation calling for tighter
regulation of food-allergens. I urge you to contact both your Representative
and your two Senators this week and ask them to support this legislation.

Representative Lowey has said that the legislation would require companies to
list the major allergens (including those in spices, flavorings, and
colorings) by their common English names, to include a telephone number on
the label that consumers could call for more information, and to better
prevent cross-contact between products made in the same facility or on the
same production line. Her bill would also allow the FDA to assess penalties
against firms that violate the food allergen requirements and require the
United States Centers for Disease Control to establish a system for tracking
food allergy-related deaths.  In addition, the legislation should be expanded
to also require companies to indicate on labels that the food may contain
allergens when the possibility of contamination cannot be totally excluded.

While legislators may not realize the difference between an allergy and
intolerance, this bill offers us an opportunity to influence labeling that
will make the job of shopping for anyone with gluten intolerance much easier.

While an e-mail to your Representative and Senators is good, an ordinary mail
letter is better.  If you use our model e-mail, the computer will
automatically send it to the proper people.  If you use an ordinary mail
letter and do not know the name of your Representative, you can go to
www.house.gov, click on Write Your Representative in the bottom left corner,
and enter your zip code.  The address for Representatives is: United States
House of Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.  For the names of your
Senators, you can go to www.senate.gov and click on List Senators by State.
The address for Senators is: United States Senate, Washington, DC 20510.

Representative Lowey and Senator Kennedy need bipartisan support to pass this
important legislation, and so I urge you to write your own ordinary mail
letter, edit the attached e-mail, or simply send the attached e-mail.

(See message Sample Letter to Write to Congress - 2nd Part for attached
e-mail information)

Now is the time to get involved and help to take control of something that is
important to all persons with gluten intolerance - CLEAR LABELS! Numbers
count. Every letter makes a difference. Let us speak with one voice.

Sincerely,

/s/

Cynthia Kupper, CRD
Executive Director, Gluten Intolerance Group
www.gluten.net

Submitted by:

Nancy
Seattle, WA
USA