Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act

Subjects: Agriculture and Food

Summary:  <p><b>Protecting Children with Food Allergies Act</b></p> <p>This bill requires the food and nutrition programs of the Department of Agriculture (USDA), such as the National School Lunch Program, to include training requirements, training opportunities, and other educational resources that address food allergies.</p> <p>Specifically, USDA must develop and publish training modules and other educational materials for food service personnel in schools relating to (1) preventing allergic reactions to food, including making food substitutions available for children with food allergies; (2) identifying symptoms of such reactions; and (3) responding to the reactions. </p> <p>Further, the bill requires school food service personnel who participate in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program to complete the training and certify their competence in preventing, identifying, and responding to food allergies. USDA must also make the training available to personnel under other child nutrition programs, including the Special Milk Program, the Summer Food Service Program, and the Child and Adult Care Food Program.</p> <p>Additionally, USDA must incorporate food allergy information into its nutrition education materials for participants under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). </p>

<html><body><pre>[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 121 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

&lt;DOC&gt;






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 121

 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the provision of 
training and information to certain personnel relating to food allergy 
          identification and response, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 26, 2023

  Mr. Durbin (for himself and Ms. Duckworth) introduced the following 
      bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                  Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the provision of 
training and information to certain personnel relating to food allergy 
          identification and response, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Protecting Children with Food 
Allergies Act''.

SEC. 2. FOOD ALLERGY TRAINING COMPLETION REQUIREMENT.

    Section 7(g)(2) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 
1776(g)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) Food allergy training and certification for 
                all local food service personnel.--
                            ``(i) In general.--The Secretary shall 
                        develop, in consultation with relevant 
                        stakeholder groups with food allergy expertise, 
                        and publish training modules and other 
                        educational materials in accordance with clause 
                        (ii).
                            ``(ii) Training modules.--A training 
                        program carried out under this subparagraph 
                        shall include training modules relating to--
                                    ``(I) the prevention of allergic 
                                reactions to food, which may include--
                                            ``(aa) communicating food 
                                        allergen information in school 
                                        menus, food products, and 
                                        recipes;
                                            ``(bb) best practices to 
                                        avoid cross-contact; and
                                            ``(cc) the availability of 
                                        appropriate food substitutions 
                                        for children with food 
                                        allergies;
                                    ``(II) the identification of food-
                                related allergic reaction symptoms; and
                                    ``(III) the appropriate responses 
                                to an allergic reaction to food.
                            ``(iii) Certification of local personnel.--
                                    ``(I) In general.--In accordance 
                                with criteria established by the 
                                Secretary, local food service personnel 
                                shall complete training and receive a 
                                certification to demonstrate competence 
                                with respect to the training provided 
                                under clause (ii).
                                    ``(II) Treatment.--The Secretary 
                                may allow local food personnel to apply 
                                a certification received under this 
                                clause toward any other training 
                                requirements under this subsection.
                            ``(iv) Methods for inclusion.--The training 
                        required under this subparagraph shall be 
                        provided, as the Secretary determines to be 
                        necessary, in--
                                    ``(I) relevant languages other than 
                                English, for individuals with limited 
                                English proficiency; and
                                    ``(II) relevant alternative 
                                formats, for individuals with 
                                disabilities (as defined in section 3 
                                of the Americans with Disabilities Act 
                                of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)).
                            ``(v) Availability to other personnel.--The 
                        Secretary shall make the training provided 
                        under this subparagraph available to personnel 
                        under child nutrition programs not covered 
                        under this subsection, including personnel 
                        under--
                                    ``(I) the special milk program 
                                under section 3;
                                    ``(II) the summer food service 
                                program for children under section 13 
                                of the Richard B. Russell National 
                                School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761); and
                                    ``(III) the child and adult care 
                                food program under section 17 of that 
                                Act (42 U.S.C. 1766).
                            ``(vi) Authorization of appropriations.--
                        There is authorized to be appropriated to the 
                        Secretary to carry out this subparagraph 
                        $1,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 
                        through 2028.''.

SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT WIC-ELIGIBLE INDIVIDUALS IMPACTED BY FOOD 
              ALLERGIES.

    Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1786) is 
amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (l) through (s) as 
        subsections (m) through (t), respectively;
            (2) by inserting after subsection (k) the following:
    ``(l) Activities To Support WIC-Eligible Individuals Impacted by 
Food Allergies.--
            ``(1) In general.--In accordance with subsection (e), the 
        Secretary shall--
                    ``(A) submit to the Secretary of Health and Human 
                Services for comment proposed nutrition education 
                materials for use under subsection (e), which shall--
                            ``(i) incorporate evidence-based findings 
                        from the United States Dietary Guidelines for 
                        Americans relating to food allergies and 
                        potentially allergenic foods; and
                            ``(ii) include nutrition education 
                        materials for--
                                    ``(I) individuals with food 
                                allergies during pregnancy and in the 
                                postpartum period;
                                    ``(II) infants impacted by prenatal 
                                food allergy exposure; and
                                    ``(III) children with food 
                                allergies; and
                    ``(B) after submitting the materials in accordance 
                with subparagraph (A), publish and disseminate the 
                materials for use under subsection (e).
            ``(2) Requirements for inclusion.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The nutrition education 
                materials under paragraph (1) shall be provided, as the 
                Secretary determines to be necessary, in--
                            ``(i) relevant languages other than English 
                        for individuals with limited English 
                        proficiency; and
                            ``(ii) relevant alternative formats for 
                        individuals with disabilities (as defined in 
                        section 3 of the Americans With Disabilities 
                        Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)).
                    ``(B) Outreach.--In carrying out this paragraph, 
                the Secretary shall conduct outreach to individuals who 
                are, or may be--
                            ``(i) eligible to participate in--
                                    ``(I) the program under this 
                                section; or
                                    ``(II) a training program of a 
                                State agency under subsection (e)(2); 
                                and
                            ``(ii) impacted by food allergies.
            ``(3) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
        to be appropriated to the Secretary to carry out this 
        subsection $1,000,000 for fiscal year 2024.'';
            (3) in subsection (q) (as redesignated by paragraph (1))--
                    (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ``subsection 
                (o)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``subsection (p)(1)(A)''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ``subsection 
                (o)(1)(A)'' and inserting ``subsection (p)(1)(A)''; and
            (4) in paragraph (5) of subsection (t) (as redesignated by 
        paragraph (1)), by striking ``subsection (r)'' and inserting 
        ``subsection (s)''.
                                 &lt;all&gt;
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