There was good news this week for patients suffering from food allergies.
President Bush signed into law a bill that calls for better labeling of food products so that consumers have improved access to information about food allergies. With the improved food labels consumers can identify whether ingredients to which they are allergic are present.

Advocates say a bill that addresses food allergy information has been a long time in coming. The bill focuses on the eight most common sources of food allergies, requiring they be labeled clearly.
Tzipora Harris’ son Moishe suffers from food allergies that are so bad, they cause him to have eczema. “His skin was red and almost bleeding. It looked like he was on fire,” she says. Tzipora has to be careful about what she feeds her son. He was diagnosed with food allergies, and lots of them. “Moishe is allergic to peanuts, eggs, sesame, pollen, and probably a few more things that I’m not 100 percent sure of yet.”
That’s why Tzipora has to be careful that she only feeds him pretzels with no eggs or sesame. But reading food labels can be a dicey issue.
For example, milk isn’t always written as milk; the label could say caseine or lactalbumin, creating confusion even for those who are savvy about food allergies.
Tzipora has to worry about multiple names for multiple allergens.
“There are about twenty different names under which peanut is written,” says Tzipora.
But now, the U.S. government has taken an important step with the newly passed Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. The law requires food manufacturers to clearly state if a product contains any of the eight major food allergens responsible for over 90 percent of all allergic reactions. These include milk, egg, wheat, soy nut, tree nuts, including hazelnut and walnut, peanut (which is actually not a nut but a legume), and fish.
Over 11 million Americans have a food allergy. More than three million are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.
The law is designed to help diminish the danger of food for these individuals. 250 Americans die each year and more than 30,000 have to receive lifesaving emergency room treatments because of food allergies.
A recent study demonstrated that only 7% of parents of children with milk allergy were able to correctly identify products that contained milk, and 22% of parents of children with soy allergy were able to correctly identify products that contained soy.
This new law goes into effect January 1, 2006. It also requires that the Food and Drug Administration conduct inspections and issue a report to ensure that the food manufacturers comply with practices to reduce or eliminate cross-contact of a food with any major food allergens that are not intentional ingredients of the food. The law will also help eliminate loopholes that allow the words ‘Natural Flavors’ to be listed. Things like natural flavors could contain significant allergens, like peanuts.
Dr. Jonathan Field, a pediatric allergist at NYU Medical Center, says,” think it’s a step in the right direction. I think more public awareness is needed and this will go a long way in providing information about food allergies to people who need it.”

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