Five Steps Forward for Food Allergy( An Initiative to Help the 12 Mill...),Health

An Initiative to Help the 12 Million Americans With Food Allergy

FAIRFAX, Va., May 8 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) will sponsor an educational briefing on Capitol Hill to introduce its "Five Steps Forward for Food Allergy." In honor of the 11th annual Food Allergy Awareness Week, May 11-17, FAAN will unveil its new advocacy initiative to address the challenges of food allergy through five steps aimed at improving the lives of the more than 12 million Americans who suffer from food allergies.

The briefing is to be held on Tuesday, May 13, 2008, at 1:30 p.m. in Room HC-6 of the U.S. Capitol. Discussion will explore guidelines for assuring the safety of food-allergic children in school, enhanced public information on food allergy, guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of food allergy, expanded research on food allergy and anaphylaxis, and further improvement of allergen labeling. There is no charge to attend, and seating is limited. The event is intended for policymakers, the media, and the public and features an impressive list of speakers:

Featured Speakers

Anne Munoz-Furlong, Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) - CEO and Founder of FAAN; mother of a child with severe food allergies

Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. - Instrumental in securing House passage of the Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Management Act of 2008 (H.R. 2063); grandfather of a child with severe food allergies

Representative Jim Walsh, R-N.Y. - Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies; co-sponsored H.R. 2063

Rhonda Adkins - Mother of a child with severe food allergies; wife of country music superstar and "The Celebrity Apprentice" finalist Trace Adkins

Jackie Clegg Dodd - Mother of a child with severe food allergies; wife of Senator Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), who introduced the F
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