Statement of Jason Linde, Senior Vice President of Government and Community Affairs, FARE, thanking Chairman Wyden and members of Congress for holding the American Bakers Association accountable for the actions of some of its members.
“On behalf of the more than 33 million Americans with life-threatening food allergies including the estimated 1.6 million allergic to sesame, FARE applauds the actions of Senate Finance Chairman, Ron Wyden; the authors of the FASTER Act – Sen. Chris Murphy and Rep. Doris Matsui; and members of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus as well as other congressional food allergy champions in demanding that some members of the American Bakers Association (ABA) stop the practice of adding sesame to bakery products to circumvent the intent of the FASTER Act.
“We are appalled that instead of complying with the law as promised and eliminating the risks faced by the sesame allergic community prior to the passage of the FASTER Act, bakery manufacturers and brands have instead done the exact opposite. Their intentional action to add sesame to previously safe products is wrong and threatens the lives of Americans with a sesame allergy
“Signatories to the letter to ABA President and CEO Eric Dell regarding the sesame issue included Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR), and Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), one of the Senate co-authors of the FASTER Act; House Financial Services Committee Chairman, and Co-Chair of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus, Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10); Rep. Doris Matsui, Co-Chair of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus and initial author of the FASTER Act; and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA-17), Vice-Chair of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus.
“It has been more two years since Congress answered the food allergy community’s call for help by unanimously passing the FASTER Act in the Senate and overwhelmingly voting for it in the House (415-11).We are grateful that once again Congress has acted to ensure the intent of the FASTER Act is followed and would like to thank Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Reps. Debbie Dingell (D-MI-06) and Dean Phillips (D-MN-03), the newest member of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus, for co-signing the letter.”
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About FARE
FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) is the leading nonprofit organization that empowers the food allergy patient across the journey of managing their disease. FARE delivers innovation by focusing on three strategic pillars—advocacy, research, and education—united by the through line of health equity. FARE’s initiatives accelerate the future of food allergy through effective policies and legislation, novel strategies toward prevention, diagnosis, and treatment, and building awareness and community. For more information, visit FoodAllergy.org.