Food Allergies: more information and the Food Allergy Initiative (FAI)

The Food Allergy Initiative is a non-profit organization founded in 1998 whose main goal is to support research to find a cure for life-threatening food allergies. Useful information can be found on their website. I find the lists of synonyms for various foods to be particularly helpful. For example, if your child has an allergy to soy, consider printing this list. The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology has recently recognized this organization as a partner. Congratulations. The other partners are listed in the "Websites" link in the top left corner of the blog's home page.

For those interested in how schools could care for children with food allergies and anaphylaxis could go to New York State's resource guide: Making a difference: caring for students with life-threatening allergies. This guide was developed because N.Y. state law mandated public schools have a policy for managing anaphylaxis. The guide is pretty comprehensive. What I like best is how the guide is written from the perspective of various members of the school staff. For example, the role of food service personnel and coaches, and how to prepare for field trips are discussed. Six other states have passed legislation similarly requiring policies for management of food allergies and anaphylaxis in public schools. The states are Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Tennessee, Vermont, and Washington. To my knowledge, South Carolina has not had any proposed legislation.