Before I continue ... let me put this here:
"Are the National Academies Fair and Balanced?
One in Five Scientists on NAS Issue Panels Tied to Firms Involved in Issue"
July 24, 2006
https://cspinet.org/new/200607241.htmlCSPI doesn’t dispute the high quality of reports produced by the National Academies (which include the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Research Council). But it says that the NAS should strengthen its policies for avoiding and disclosing conflicts of interest and for maintaining balance if the NAS is to maintain the credibility it currently enjoys.
It's something to think about.
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ok, back to that report ... I think this is the latest (final?) version ... 2017:
"Finding a Path to Safety in Food Allergy:
Assessment of the Global Burden, Causes, Prevention, Management, and Public Policy (2017) "
https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23658/finding-a-path-to-safety-in-food-allergy-assessment-ofhttps://www.nap.edu/read/23658/chapter/1Page 288:
Insufficient evidence exists on the prevalence and severity of allergies to other foods on the lists of priority allergenic foods in other countries, including molluscan shellfish, mustard, celery root, and buckwheat, to warrant their addition to the priority list in the United States.
Page 312:
in the United States, some foods listed by the FDA as tree nuts (i.e., beech nut, butternut, chestnut, chinquapin, coconut, gingko nut, hickory nut, lichee nut, pili nut, shea nut) could be removed from the current priority list based on the paucity of data or low frequency of allergic reactions.
Coming from a patient/consumer background, I think that existing data and studies could have been used to make different policy recommendations.
For instance, I think that there may be enough data/evidence to make a good argument that mustard
should be included in the USA priority list as it is for Canada:
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/reports-publications/food-safety/mustard-priority-food-allergen.htmlOr ... for the addition of the category "Seeds": sesame, mustard, sunflower, etc.
Some were arguing against the addition of sesame to the priority list before the CSPI petition was filed ... did the science change or the politics?
When I was active in the food allergy community, I met several people dealing with coconut allergy ... I feel badly because that allergen is going to be a nightmare to avoid imo if it is again allowed to "hide" on the food label under terms like "natural flavor". Many food products will probably become off-limits for the coconut-allergic if that allergen is removed from the priority list. Coconut may not have a high prevalence, but do patient quality-of-life considerations count for nothing?
Like I said before, I'm no longer involved in food allergy advocacy ... it does not affect my family ... and if the food allergy patient community is satisfied with the proposed "Ten-for-One" deal ... fine. I just wanted to make sure that the patient community understood that this may be where things are headed.
Deciding on the appropriate level of regulations is often sort of a dance/game between consumers/patients and industry imo ... a negotiation ... $$$, power, influence, media/PR, lobbying & voting all come into play ... but consumers/patients have to remain informed & active if they want a government that is responsive to the needs of "the people", regular citizens.
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Something Jimmy Kimmel said the other day resonates with me ...
"Jimmy Kimmel: Sen. Bill Cassidy ‘failed’ his own test on health care"
By DAN DIAMOND, 09/20/2017 12:16 AM EDT
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/09/20/jimmy-kimmel-bill-cassidy-obamacare-242913“Health care’s complicated [and] it’s boring; I don’t want to talk about it [and] the details are confusing,” Kimmel said in his monologue. “And that’s what these guys are relying on. … They’re taking care of the people who give them money, like insurance companies.”
The same kind of thing imo ... FDA regulations can be kind of boring and complicated ... but if regular citizens/patients don't pay
attention, public health can be negatively affected.