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Created on Thursday, 06 December 2018 08:52

Written by ifrpd-foodallergy

Opinion: Anaphylaxis in the Air – What We Learned from Natasha’s Allergy Tragedy

Many in the food allergy community have been following the British inquest into the anaphylaxis death of Natasha Ednan-Laperouse. In four days of testimony, we learned the heartbreaking confluence of events that led the 15-year-old to pass away following a severe allergic reaction to sesame on a flight from London to Nice, France, in the summer of 2016.

The details revealed at the inquest were dreadful for the Ednan-Laperouse family to relive, but also deeply concerning for many food-allergic travelers worldwide. As someone who advocates for better allergy accommodations and as the mother of a food-allergic son, I now know more than ever that there is an urgent need for better airline crew training to be ready – in the event of anaphylaxis.

The Sept. 28 conclusions of Coroner Dr. Sean Cummings focused on the need to tighten labeling shortcomings, which led Natasha and her father Nadim Ednan-Laperouse to presume her sandwich was sesame-free when it was not.

But during the inquest, evidence also showed there was not sufficient understanding of anaphylaxis among this particular British Airways crew. Nor was there appreciation that epinephrine is not always a miracle antidote, especially if it hasn’t been administered promptly after eating an allergen. There were also issues with how the crew supported the young physician who came forward to help Natasha on that fateful trip on July 17, 2016. My concern is less with this one crew, and more with how this case points, in general, to shortcomings in allergy readiness in the air.

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Created on Wednesday, 28 November 2018 10:07

Written by ifrpd-foodallergy

FDA considers adding sesame to list of allergens that must be declared on packaged foods

The FDA is issuing a request for information (RFI) on the prevalence and severity of sesame allergies in the US to inform possible regulatory action that would require sesame to be labeled as an allergen on packaged foods along with the ‘big eight’ (milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans).

“Unfortunately, we’re beginning to see evidence that sesame allergies may be a growing concern in the US,” said FDA commissioner Dr Scott Gottlieb, who noted that the European Union, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all require labeling of sesame.

“A handful of studies, for example, suggest that the prevalence of sesame allergies in the US is more than 0.1%, on par with allergies to soy and fish.”

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