What This Bill Does
This bill changes the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to require the federal government to create food allergy training for school food service workers. The bill also requires the government to develop nutrition education materials for people who receive benefits from the WIC program (Women, Infants, and Children) and are affected by food allergies.
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Who It Affects
- Local food service workers in schools
- School food programs
- Personnel in the special milk program
- Personnel in the summer food service program for children
- Personnel in the child and adult care food program
- People eligible for WIC benefits who have food allergies or family members with food allergies
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Key Provisions
- The federal government must develop and publish food allergy training modules for school food service workers covering how to prevent allergic reactions, identify allergy symptoms, and respond to allergic reactions (Sec. 2)
- School food service workers must complete the training and receive a certification showing they understand the material (Sec. 2)
- The training must be provided in languages other than English for people with limited English skills and in alternative formats for people with disabilities (Sec. 2)
- The federal government must create nutrition education materials about food allergies for pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and children with food allergies in the WIC program (Sec. 3)
- The government must conduct outreach to WIC-eligible people who have or may have food allergies (Sec. 3)
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What Changes
If this bill becomes law, school food service workers will be required to complete food allergy training and become certified in this training. The federal government will create new educational materials about food allergies for WIC participants. Training will be available in multiple languages and accessible formats for people with disabilities.
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Important Definitions
"Cross-contact" means the passage of food allergens (substances that cause allergic reactions) from one food to another during preparation. The bill references "individuals with disabilities" as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 but does not provide its own definition.
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
II
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, Nu-
trition, 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 Representa-
1
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
3
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting Children
4
with Food Allergies Act’’.
5
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•S 121 IS
SEC. 2. FOOD ALLERGY TRAINING COMPLETION REQUIRE-
1
MENT.
2
Section 7(g)(2) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
3
(42 U.S.C. 1776(g)(2)) is amended by adding at the end
4
the following:
5
‘‘(C) FOOD ALLERGY TRAINING AND CER-
6
TIFICATION
FOR
ALL
LOCAL
FOOD
SERVICE
7
PERSONNEL.—
8
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary
9
shall develop, in consultation with relevant
10
stakeholder groups with food allergy exper-
11
tise, and publish training modules and
12
other educational materials in accordance
13
with clause (ii).
14
‘‘(ii) TRAINING
MODULES.—A train-
15
ing program carried out under this sub-
16
paragraph shall include training modules
17
relating to—
18
‘‘(I) the prevention of allergic re-
19
actions to food, which may include—
20
‘‘(aa) communicating food
21
allergen information in school
22
menus, food products, and rec-
23
ipes;
24
‘‘(bb) best practices to avoid
25
cross-contact; and
26
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•S 121 IS
‘‘(cc) the availability of ap-
1
propriate food substitutions for
2
children with food allergies;
3
‘‘(II) the identification of food-re-
4
lated allergic reaction symptoms; and
5
‘‘(III) the appropriate responses
6
to an allergic reaction to food.
7
‘‘(iii) CERTIFICATION OF LOCAL PER-
8
SONNEL.—
9
‘‘(I) IN
GENERAL.—In accord-
10
ance with criteria established by the
11
Secretary, local food service personnel
12
shall complete training and receive a
13
certification
to
demonstrate
com-
14
petence with respect to the training
15
provided under clause (ii).
16
‘‘(II)
TREATMENT.—The
Sec-
17
retary may allow local food personnel
18
to apply a certification received under
19
this clause toward any other training
20
requirements under this subsection.
21
‘‘(iv) METHODS
FOR
INCLUSION.—
22
The training required under this subpara-
23
graph shall be provided, as the Secretary
24
determines to be necessary, in—
25
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•S 121 IS
‘‘(I) relevant languages other
1
than English, for individuals with lim-
2
ited English proficiency; and
3
‘‘(II) relevant alternative for-
4
mats, for individuals with disabilities
5
(as defined in section 3 of the Ameri-
6
cans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (42
7
U.S.C. 12102)).
8
‘‘(v) AVAILABILITY
TO
OTHER
PER-
9
SONNEL.—The Secretary shall make the
10
training provided under this subparagraph
11
available to personnel under child nutrition
12
programs not covered under this sub-
13
section, including personnel under—
14
‘‘(I) the special milk program
15
under section 3;
16
‘‘(II) the summer food service
17
program for children under section 13
18
of the Richard B. Russell National
19
School Lunch Act (42 U.S.C. 1761);
20
and
21
‘‘(III) the child and adult care
22
food program under section 17 of that
23
Act (42 U.S.C. 1766).
24
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‘‘(vi) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIA-
1
TIONS.—There is authorized to be appro-
2
priated to the Secretary to carry out this
3
subparagraph $1,000,000 for each of fiscal
4
years 2024 through 2028.’’.
5
SEC. 3. ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT WIC-ELIGIBLE INDIVID-
6
UALS IMPACTED BY FOOD ALLERGIES.
7
Section 17 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42
8
U.S.C. 1786) is amended—
9
(1) by redesignating subsections (l) through (s)
10
as subsections (m) through (t), respectively;
11
(2) by inserting after subsection (k) the fol-
12
lowing:
13
‘‘(l) ACTIVITIES TO SUPPORT WIC-ELIGIBLE INDI-
14
VIDUALS IMPACTED BY FOOD ALLERGIES.—
15
‘‘(1) IN
GENERAL.—In accordance with sub-
16
section (e), the Secretary shall—
17
‘‘(A) submit to the Secretary of Health
18
and Human Services for comment proposed nu-
19
trition education materials for use under sub-
20
section (e), which shall—
21
‘‘(i) incorporate evidence-based find-
22
ings from the United States Dietary
23
Guidelines for Americans relating to food
24
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allergies and potentially allergenic foods;
1
and
2
‘‘(ii) include nutrition education mate-
3
rials for—
4
‘‘(I) individuals with food aller-
5
gies during pregnancy and in the
6
postpartum period;
7
‘‘(II) infants impacted by pre-
8
natal food allergy exposure; and
9
‘‘(III) children with food aller-
10
gies; and
11
‘‘(B) after submitting the materials in ac-
12
cordance with subparagraph (A), publish and
13
disseminate the materials for use under sub-
14
section (e).
15
‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION.—
16
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The nutrition edu-
17
cation materials under paragraph (1) shall be
18
provided, as the Secretary determines to be nec-
19
essary, in—
20
‘‘(i) relevant languages other than
21
English
for
individuals
with
limited
22
English proficiency; and
23
‘‘(ii) relevant alternative formats for
24
individuals with disabilities (as defined in
25
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•S 121 IS
section 3 of the Americans With Disabil-
1
ities Act of 1990 (42 U.S.C. 12102)).
2
‘‘(B) OUTREACH.—In carrying out this
3
paragraph, the Secretary shall conduct outreach
4
to individuals who are, or may be—
5
‘‘(i) eligible to participate in—
6
‘‘(I) the program under this sec-
7
tion; or
8
‘‘(II) a training program of a
9
State agency under subsection (e)(2);
10
and
11
‘‘(ii) impacted by food allergies.
12
‘‘(3) AUTHORIZATION
OF
APPROPRIATIONS.—
13
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
14
retary to carry out this subsection $1,000,000 for
15
fiscal year 2024.’’;
16
(3) in subsection (q) (as redesignated by para-
17
graph (1))—
18
(A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub-
19
section (o)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection
20
(p)(1)(A)’’; and
21
(B) in paragraph (2)(B), by striking ‘‘sub-
22
section (o)(1)(A)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection
23
(p)(1)(A)’’; and
24
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(4) in paragraph (5) of subsection (t) (as redes-
1
ignated by paragraph (1)), by striking ‘‘subsection
2
(r)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (s)’’.
3
Æ
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