[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 447 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 447

Supporting the designation of May 28, 2021, as ``National Food Allergy 
    Prevention Awareness Day'' to raise awareness and encourage the 
          prevention of severe food allergies among children.


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                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 28, 2021

 Ms. Brownley (for herself, Ms. Matsui, Mr. Khanna, Mr. Cicilline, and 
Mr. Morelle) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to 
                  the Committee on Energy and Commerce

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                               RESOLUTION


 
Supporting the designation of May 28, 2021, as ``National Food Allergy 
    Prevention Awareness Day'' to raise awareness and encourage the 
          prevention of severe food allergies among children.

Whereas 32,000,000 Americans live with food allergies, including many that are 
        life-threatening, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 
        reports that the prevalence of food allergies in children increased by 
        50 percent between 1997 and 2011;
Whereas food allergies have an enormous impact on quality of life for the 1 in 
        13 children who develop a severe food allergy, and one-third of children 
        over the age of 5 with allergies are bullied for their allergy;
Whereas there is an annual cost to families in the United States of nearly 
        $25,000,000,000 per year, not including the impact to quality of life;
Whereas many children who develop a food allergy do not have a family history of 
        food allergies, and therefore the family is much less aware of the life-
        changing consequences of developing a food allergy and the need for food 
        allergy prevention;
Whereas research has shown that early introduction has shown promise in reducing 
        the impact of food allergies in studies where parents feed peanuts and 
        eggs, allergenic foods, to their babies as early as 4 to 6 months of 
        age;
Whereas the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, published by the 
        Department of Agriculture and the Department of Health and Human 
        Services, and medical guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics 
        and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases already 
        recommend early allergen introduction to help prevent food allergies; 
        and
Whereas the FASTER Act of 2021 (Public Law 117-11) highlights sesame as an 
        important allergenic food, and prioritizes food allergy research 
        opportunities to examine prevention and develop more effective 
        treatment, and ultimately, a cure: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) supports the designation of ``National Food Allergy 
        Prevention Awareness Day'';
            (2) recognizes--
                    (A) the National Institutes of Health and the 
                National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases 
                for funding the initial food allergy prevention 
                research through the Learning Early About Peanut 
                Allergy trial; and
                    (B) the advocacy community for its work to educate 
                parents about food allergy prevention;
            (3) encourages health care providers, the public health 
        community, businesses, individuals, and Federal, State, and 
        local governments, to work together to raise awareness of food 
        allergy prevention to reduce the number of individuals in the 
        United States who have severe food allergies; and
            (4) encourages State and Federal health agencies to further 
        expand research in food allergy prevention and into how we can 
        dramatically reduce food allergies in the United States.
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