Sacramento Standard

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), Congressman Patrick McHenry (NC-10) and Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), led a letter urging bakers to stop unnecessarily adding sesame to baked goods and protect consumers with sesame allergies.

“The dangerous practice of adding sesame to baked goods that have not previously contained the ingredient, often without notice, undermines the trust that people with food allergies place in the food industry,” the legislators wrote to the American Bakers Association.

“Instead of acting to protect consumers, manufacturers are adding trace amounts of sesame to their baking products since the passage of the FASTER Act. It appears that this is being done to avoid the costs associated with the processes and systems controls necessary to ensure safe baking practices,” the legislators continued.

Sesame allergies impact more than 1.5 million Americans, half of which are children, and reactions can be serious and life threatening. To improve the health and safety of Americans living with food allergies, Congress passed the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act, which requires baking manufacturers to appropriately label products that contain sesame. The FASTER Act was co-authored by Congresswoman Matsui and Congressman McHenry, who serve as Co-Chairs of the Congressional Food Allergy Research Caucus. This legislation, signed into law by President Biden in April 2021, made sesame the ninth major food allergen recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, requiring sesame to be labeled as an allergen on packaged foods beginning this year.

After the FASTER Act was signed into law, the American Bakers Association (ABA) publicly agreed that it should not be a problem for bakers to make production changes to handle sesame as an allergen in their bakeries. Today, families are struggling to find products without sesame as previously trusted restaurants and brands have engaged in the dangerous practice of adding sesame. These actions undercut the purpose and intent of the FASTER Act and put the lives of consumers at risk.

“It is imperative that the baking industry take immediate action to address this issue. The health and safety of consumers should always be a top priority. The baking industry has a responsibility to protect the public, especially those with food allergies, and the intentional new addition of a known allergen to products goes against this responsibility. It’s time to act to rectify the situation,” the legislators concluded their letter.

Cosigners of the letter include: Reps. Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Dean Phillips (MN-03), and Ro Khanna (CA-17) and Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chris Murphy (D-CT).

The letter is supported by the Campaign Urging Research for Eosinophilic Diseases, Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, Food Allergy Research and Education, The American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, The Elijah-Alavi Foundation Inc., AllergyStrong, The Allergy Advocacy Association, The American Partnership for Eosinophilic Disorders, The FPIES Foundation, The American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, International FPIES Association, Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Connection Team, Center for Science in the Public Interest, Food Allergy Science Initiative, and the Allergy & Asthma Network.

A copy of the letter can be found below and HERE.

Dear Mr. Dell,

We are writing to express our extreme concern and disappointment in the baking industry’s response to the 2021 Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act, which recognized sesame as the ninth major food allergen in the United States. The FASTER Act was designed to improve the health and safety of those living with food allergies by collecting information on food allergens and allergy prevalence and requiring appropriate labeling on products that contain sesame.

Instead of acting to protect consumers, manufacturers are adding trace amounts of sesame to their baking products since the passage of the FASTER Act. It appears that this is being done to avoid the costs associated with the processes and systems controls necessary to ensure safe baking practices.

The dangerous practice of adding sesame to baked goods that have not previously contained the ingredient, often without notice, undermines the trust that people with food allergies place in the food industry.

The baking industry had nearly two years to comply with the requirements of the FASTER Act, and along the way gave no indication that these new protection standards could not be met. After the FASTER Act was signed into law, the American Bakers Association (ABA) publicly agreed that it should not be a problem for bakers to make production changes to handle sesame as an allergen in their bakeries. We applaud the fourteen brands that have confirmed their facilities are dedicated free of sesame and hope the ABA will encourage more bakers to do the same.

Sesame allergies impact more than 1.5 million Americans, half of which are children, and reactions can be serious and life threatening. Before the FASTER Act, families with sesame allergies were challenged to know if sesame was in the products they were buying. Now families are struggling to find products without sesame as previously trusted restaurants and brands have engaged in this dangerous practice of adding sesame. These actions undercut the purpose and intent of the FASTER Act and put the lives of consumers at risk.

It is imperative that the baking industry take immediate action to address this issue. The health and safety of consumers should always be a top priority. The baking industry has a responsibility to protect the public, especially those with food allergies, and the intentional new addition of a known allergen to products goes against this responsibility. It’s time to act to rectify the situation.

We strongly condemn these practices and urge your members to take the steps necessary to implement safety control measures. No company should be allowed to avoid the costs associated with safe baking practices and risk public health and safety for those with life-threatening food allergies. We will look for your written response May 16, 2023. The baking industry must do the right thing.

Original source can be found here