Restaurants in the state of Massachusetts are on the way to becoming more allergy friendly.

A bill that requires training on food-allergy issues for restaurant staff and the placement of a tag line on all menus advising diners to notify wait staff of any allergy concerns is under review in Massachusetts. The bill would also establish a program allowing restaurants to be certified as “food allergy friendly” if the establishment meets the strict requirements set forth by the law, including listing of all ingredients used in the restaurant on the menu.

The bill, sponsored by state Senator Cynthia Stone Creem (D-Newton), has already passed in the Massachusetts state Senate and is under review in the state House of Representatives.

A similar law has already been established in New Jersey.

On the national level, U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) and U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) hosted a hearing entitled “Addressing the Challenge of Children with Food Allergies” on May 14. The purpose of which was to raise awareness to the need for increased funding of allergy research and training.

For more information and to listen to the testimonies that occurred at the hearing, visit Allergy Moms.

I hope, as I’m sure you do, that this legislation keeps on coming!

-Sarah

Hello there-

My name is Sarah O’Brien, senior nutrition specialist for Nutricia, and I’m really excited about joining the Baby Health Blog team.

I‘ve worked with nutrition and allergies for quite sometime now. About eight years ago, I came to Nutricia, where I’ve focused on nutrition therapies for kids with food allergies, gastrointestinal issues, metabolic conditions and neurological diseases.

I really like being able to lend a hand (and ear!) to parents facing these issues. But, I have to tell you, my line of work made the idea of becoming a mom a little scary for me! It’s kind of like reading way too many parenting-prep books and spending too much time with all those well-meaning people who tell you all the gory details about how painful their delivery was. I just had too much information.

But now, here I am, pregnant with my first child. And I do worry about food allergies and EE and everything else that my baby may be faced with. But the other thing I’ve learned from parents like you is that, no matter what happens, it will be very, very worth it. Because this baby will, in my husband’s and my eyes, be the most perfect baby ever born. (Although her perfection will be closely followed by my sister’s kids of course

I’m so happy to share information with you and be involved in this community. And, just like Steven and the other nutrition specialists, I hope you feel free to post comments, questions and opinions. But if you could hold off on all the gory delivery stories for a few months that would be great!

-Sarah

For those of you who are not familiar with EE, children that suffer from the condition follow severely restricted diets and rely on amino acid-based formulas such as Neocate for their nutritional needs.

Common symptoms include:

Nausea;
Vomiting;
Severe heartburn;
Difficulty swallowing; and
Weight loss.

If you are interested in getting more information About.com has a great article you can read.

As Allergy and Asthma month goes on throughout May, continue to use it as another way to get the word out about food allergies, and next week, focus on EE.

-Marybeth

Great news for food allergy families! I just found out that the Maryland House Bill 578, requiring health insurance coverage for amino acid-based elemental formula, was signed at 10:00am yesterday by Governor Martin O’Malley (D). Essentially, this bill requires insurance companies in Maryland to reimburse families for amino acid-based elemental formulas, like Neocate, that are medically necessary for the “diagnosis and treatment of certain allergies, syndromes, and conditions.”

The coverage of amino acid-based formulas will be available to all policies, contracts and health benefit plans issued, delivered or renewed in Maryland on or after October 1, 2008.

Similar legislation has already been passed in the following states: Arizona, Connecticut, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey and New York. Click here to view a copy of each state’s legislation.

If you don’t live in one of the above states and are interested in finding out how you can help get legislation passed it your state, visit Children’s Magic.

I expect this will provide a lot of much-needed relief for many Maryland food allergy families. Hopefully, more states will follow with similar legislation.

Take care,
Marybeth

Food shopping for your family can be tough. You want to keep everyone happy and healthy at the same time. With children, this can be extra hard with all the cookies and candies out there! And if you are parent of a kid with a food allergy you have to be especially careful!

As an allergy parent, you know one little drop of the food your child is allergic to could be devastating for them. Therefore, it’s extremely important to take the time to read through all food labels, slowly but surely. This is one of the best ways to safely manage your child’s food allergies.

A common mistake parents make is thinking that a product’s claim to be “allergy-free” means that the product is safe for their kids. Unfortunately, these products are most likely “allergy-friendly” and could contain some less common allergens – which your child might just be allergic to!

So how do you keep your child safe? Gina Clowes lists some helpful tips for consumers buying allergy-friendly products at the bottom of this press release.

Just another allergy safety reminder for you and your family!