WASHINGTON—U.S. Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Tim Scott (R-S.C.) on Thursday, introduced the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act to help address the growing challenges posed by food allergies, which affect tens of millions of Americans. The bill modernizes our nation’s labeling laws by codifying sesame as a major food allergen and calls for a comprehensive report on food allergies in the United States that will assist future governmental and private-sector efforts to monitor, study, and combat these allergies. Approximately 1.5 million Americans are allergic to sesame.

“Parents in Connecticut have told me about the dangers their children with food allergies face without clear labeling on food products. We now know that sesame allergies are widely prevalent and pose a real threat, and yet our federal labelling requirements have lagged far behind the need. I’m proud to partner with Senator Scott in introducing the FASTER Act, which ensures that sesame will be classified as a major food allergen and requires further reporting to Congress addressing a variety of food allergen issues. I look forward to working in a bipartisan fashion to advance this bill in the Senate,” said Murphy.

“With approximately 32 million Americans living with food allergies, it’s important for us to take targeted steps to address the growing challenges posed by food allergies and to protect those who are vulnerable,” said Scott. “Nationwide, caring for children with food allergies costs an average of $25 billion annually, and can pose extreme hardships on low- and middle-income families. I look forward to my Senate colleagues supporting this bipartisan legislation and hope that we can continue to make progress for Americans affected by this issue.”

“There are 32 million Americans living with potentially life-threatening food allergies, including 1.5 million with allergies to sesame, and we are so grateful to Senators Murphy and Scott for their leadership and support in introducing S. 3451.,” said Lisa Gable, chief executive officer of FARE. “If passed, along with the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education & Research (FASTER) Act (H.R. 2117) currently in the House of Representatives, this legislation has the potential to permanently change the way the U.S. approaches the management, treatment and prevention of food allergies and brings real hope to the food allergy community.”

The FASTER Act would:

a)Codify sesame as a major food allergen under the FD&C Act, effective for products introduced into interstate commerce on or after January 1, 2022; and

b)Direct HHS, within two years of enactment, to submit a report to Congress on: 1) opportunities and challenges related to food allergy prevention, risk reduction, cures, and diagnostic and therapeutic development; 2) updates on data collection activities and gaps related to food allergies; and 3) recommendations for addressing current challenges posed by these allergies.

Organizations endorsing the bill include: Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE), Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

The full version of the bill text can be accessed here.

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