U.S. Senator Deb Fischer (R-NE) and Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), both members of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, celebrated their bipartisan Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act becoming law through an amendment to the Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act.
Fischer and Durbin’s legislation will ensure that school food service staff receive essential training about food allergies, so that they are better equipped to prevent, recognize, and respond to food allergic reactions, which can save lives.
“I’m grateful President Trump signed our bipartisan, commonsense Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act into law. Now, parents can have the peace of mind knowing that school food service personnel nationwide will know how to respond if a student experiences a serious allergic reaction,” Fischer said.
“When parents drop their kids off at school, they should have peace of mind knowing that their children are safe with personnel who are trained to handle their children’s food allergies. I’m pleased that our bipartisan Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act earned the support of both chambers of Congress and the White House. Its enactment will ensure that kids will be safer in the event of an allergic reaction,” Durbin said.
USDA requires annual training to school food personnel who work under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and the School Breakfast Program (SBP). Required training includes modules in nutrition, health, and food safety standards. The Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act will add “food allergies” to the existing list of required trainings to ensure that school food personnel receive essential information about food allergies.