Follow By Email: FAACT's May e-Newsletter: It's Food Allergy Awareness Month!

The Voice of Food Allergy Awareness

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Celebrating TEAL Moments During Food Allergy Awareness Month!

Spring has arrived, bringing with it the food allergy community's time to shine: Food Allergy Awareness Week (FAAW) and Month! Over the next 31 days, our food allergy world explodes with activities, conversations, and gratitude as we raise food allergy awareness. This is the perfect time for us to kick up a little teal dust!

Head to FAACT's website to download Celebrating TEAL Moments social medial profile and cover images to shine from your heart into the community!

FAACT's website also has tools, resources, and activities to engage your family during FAAW while raising awareness using materials vetted by our Medical Advisory Board. Be sure to tag us when you post using #CelebratingTEALmoments and @FAACTNews on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

You won't want to miss our next lively Roundtable Podcast! In Ep. 159, Kristin Osborne, FAACT's Vice President of Education, will share powerful ways to raise food allergy awareness. Tune in to discover a range of fun activities to involve children and adults in food allergy education.

Please #ShareTheFAACTs on Social Media This Month:

1. Share ONE fact from FAACT's website each day in May on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

2. Ask family and friends to participate by sharing your status.

3. Include FAACT's website after each fact to encourage followers to learn more: www.FoodAllergyAwareness.org.

Visit our website for more ideas and activities – and #ShareTheFAACTs!

Happy Mother's Day

At FAACT, we celebrate parents of food-allergic children every day. But on May 14th, we honor moms with a big hug of gratitude! Food allergy mothers are superheroes who can sniff out a peanut at 20 yards, spy spilled milk when their heads are turned, and sense when their child is leaving home without epinephrine auto-injectors.

Food allergy moms have the ability to appear calm during an allergic reaction, even when they are panicked and worried inside. They can hold in the world's loudest scream when they hear "but a little won't hurt" and have to explain for the hundredth time why it will. Food allergy moms also understand the hurt of their child's exclusion and feel the pain when they must say no to keep their loved ones safe.

We honor and celebrate mothers everywhere!

Wishing everyone a Happy Mother's Day!

Join Us for FAACT's Camp TAG Summer Program

It's time to start thinking about summer camp!

Camp TAG provides a place for children (ages 4-13) with food allergies, eosinophilic disorders, FPIES, Celiac disease, eczema, and asthma – and their non-allergic siblings – to enjoy the summer camp experience with no worries about allergic reactions. Teens with food allergies and teen siblings ages 14+ can apply to be counselors and receive community service hours for their time during the week.

As you start planning your family's summer fun, we hope you can join us. Spot are filling up quickly, so register today for the Camp TAG nearest you:

Lebanon, OH: June 5-9, 2023, at YMCA Camp Kern
Nashville, TN: June 26-30, 2023, at YMCA Camp Widjiwagan
Huguenot, NY: July 31-August 4, 2023, at YMCA Camp Huguenot

Can't make one of the in-person camps? Join FAACT's Virtual Camp TAG July 17-21. All details are on our website.

We hope you can join us for a fun-filled summer!

Vitality Bowls Supports FAACT During Food Allergy Awareness Month

Supporting FAACT tastes great!

Vitality Bowls cafes across the country are encouraging guests to try the May Bowl of the Month – the Super Berry Bowl – in support of FAACT. For each Super Berry Bowl sold, Vitality Bowls will donate 10 percent of the proceeds to FAACT.

"Vitality Bowls was created out of the need for a safe, healthy, food allergy-friendly zone for our daughter. We're proud to offer a safe space, free of cross-contact, so customers with food allergies can feel good about eating at our cafes," says Tara Gilad, chief operating officer of Vitality Bowls. "But there is so much more work that needs to be done to educate people about the dangers that food allergies pose. FAACT does an incredible job educating people and advocating for food allergy individuals, and we are proud to help support them in their mission."

The Super Berry Bowl has special meaning for FAACT Board member Brian Hom, his wife Kathy, and their family, who own two Vitality Bowls cafes in California. After losing their son BJ to an allergic reaction, the Hom family dedicated their lives to spreading awareness about food allergies. The Super Berry Bowl was created in BJ's memory, honoring his love for berries.

Stop by your local Vitality Bowls and support FAACT throughout Food Allergy Awareness Month!

Viaskin Peanut Patch Continues on the Regulatory Approval Path

The Viaskin Peanut patch is one step closer to U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval. DBV Technologies announced that the FDA is not requiring additional studies to prove the efficacy of the patch. However, FDA has asked for additional safety data on using the patch with children ages 1 to 3 years who have a confirmed peanut allergy. The new safety study will also generate patch adhesion data with updated Instructions for Use.

Viaskin Peanut patch is designed to desensitize young patients with peanut allergy from reacting to peanuts.

Read the full press release online.

New Epinephrine Delivery Method in Development

Aquestive Therapeutics recently announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration conditionally accepted Anaphylm™ as the proposed brand name for a sublingual (under-the-tongue) film the company is developing to administer epinephrine during a severe allergic reaction. Part of the company's naming process was working with healthcare practitioners to promote accurate prescription and safety interpretation of the name.

Read the full press release online.

FAACT's Roundtable Podcast: Where the Latest Conversations are Found

Stay up to date on the most talked-about news and tips for living with food allergies. Discover the latest information, including back-to-school accommodations from legal experts, Covid-19 vaccinations and food allergies, mental health, and much more.

ICYMI, our recent podcasts include:

Ep. 159: Celebrating TEAL Moments for Food Allergy Awareness Month
Ep. 158: EGID Research, Advocacy, and How to Engage in Clinical Trials
Ep. 157: College with Food Allergies - Next Steps After You Say Yes
Ep. 156: Planning for Back-to-School Accommodations

Download FAACT's Roundtable Podcast here. You can also find FAACT's Roundtable Podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, Google Podcast, Stitcher, iHeart Radio, Podcast Chaser, Deezer, Tune-In, Alexa, and Listen Notes.

Subscribe, share, and leave us a review!

Inclusion Matters

Inclusion Is for Everyone but THEM: The Process of Othering
by Aleasa Word, FAACT VP of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion

A lot of people can probably say they have felt the impact of being "othered" at least once. Whether you were "othered" at school by a kid who created some justification for excluding you, "othered" socially because of your race or gender, or even "othered" by an ineffective leader at work, it's no fun being the "other" – nor is it right.

In the food allergy community, we fight to ensure our children and loved ones are not excluded from school, extracurricular activities, workplaces, and communities. We rally together to sign petitions, write letters, contact legislators, and reach out to national advocacy organizations to help protect us and those we love. We must not forget that the same level of inclusion should be afforded to those not like us. Whether someone is from a different country/culture or someone down the street looks or loves differently than you, we cannot afford to exclude anyone.

Read the full blog in FAACT's 'Inclusion Matters' section of our
DEI Resource Center.

Chef Diego's Corner

Chef Diego Baraona is an executive chef and culinary instructor and formerly the Culinary Manager of the Bionutritional Kitchen at Mount Sinai Health System in the Clinical Research Unit for Pediatric Allergy Research. Chef Diego has created hundreds of allergy-friendly recipes for families – like this one!

Check out his latest recipe!

Bean Salad

Beans provide protein, fiber, potassium, and magnesium with little or no fat. A bean salad is a delicious way to eat beans.

Ingredients:

1 can of pinto beans, drained and rinsed (preferably organic)
1 can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed (preferably organic)
1 red onion, diced small
10 radishes, trimmed, cut lengthwise and sliced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced small
1/2 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 serrano pepper or jalapeño, minced (if you want to make it less spicy, removed seed and white veins)
2 tablespoons of virgin olive oil*
Juice of 2 limes
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a bowl thoroughly.
Let salad sit for at least 2 hours before eating.

* I love Spanish olive oil. I recommend buying olive oil made in Baena, a municipality located in the province of Córdoba, Andalucía.

Enjoy!

Chef Diego contributes an allergy-friendly recipe each month in our e-newsletter. You can follow Chef Diego on Instagram at @chefbaraona to see more of his amazing, allergen-friendly recipes.

FAACT Partnership with MedicAlert Foundation

Safety and preparedness are at the heart of each food allergy emergency plan. During an anaphylactic emergency, immediate access to contacts, insurance, and information about other health conditions are often needed. Services linked to identification jewelry are top choices for many people living with food allergies.

FAACT partnered with the MedicAlert Foundation to help raise food allergy and anaphylaxis awareness. Our partnership includes collaborating on educational resources, internal call center training with MedicAlert staff, webinars, and more.

As a special gift to FAACT families, new MedicAlert subscribers will receive 20% off their new subscription service order. Use promo code: FAACT20. Visit MedicAlert to subscribe today!

Subscribe for FAACT's Alerts and Recalls

Sign up for FAACT's Alerts and Recalls to receive the latest information on food allergen-related recalls of FDA-regulated products. You can also search our recall archives by specific allergens at any time.

FAACT will only post recalls and alerts reported by FDA, USDA, and manufacturers regarding the top 8 food allergens recognized by FDA (soon to be top 9, including sesame). FAACT will not post non-food items, with the exception of medications, under the advisement of our Medical Advisory Board.

Subscribe today on FAACT's Alerts Page.

More About FAACT

Food allergies affect as many as 32 million Americans, including 6 million children. The prevalence of food allergies appears to be increasing among children under the age of 18, and there is NO cure! FAACT's mission is to educate, advocate, and raise awareness for all individuals and families affected by food allergies and life-threatening anaphylaxis. FAACT is also your voice for food allergy awareness, from keeping children safe at school to dealing with workplace issues or simply taking the family out for a bite to eat. Managing a food allergy on a daily basis involves constant vigilance. FAACT is here to support you in managing your food allergies – today, tomorrow, and into the future.

For more information, please visit us at www.FoodAllergyAwareness.org and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

Contact us directly via Email.