Allergy & Asthma Network Brings Food Allergy Awareness to World Food Championships

ORANGE BEACH, Ala., Oct. 18, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Allergy & Asthma Network, the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions, is hosting a half-day food allergy symposium on Friday, November 10 at the 2017 World Food Championships, the largest food competition among the world's best chefs.

The symposium, Addressing Allergies in Food Service, will focus on food allergy awareness, allergen substitutions in recipes and avoiding cross contamination in the kitchen, as well as the psychosocial impact of life-threatening allergies.

The program will be moderated by Tonya Winders, President & CEO of the Network, and will include presentations from celebrity chef Elizabeth Falkner and Drs. Ruchi Gupta and Michael Pistiner. Falkner is an accomplished chef and cookbook author, and has appeared on numerous TV cooking shows such as "Iron Chef," "Top Chef," and "Food Network Challenge." Dr. Gupta is an associate professor of pediatrics and food allergy researcher at Northwestern Medicine and Ann and Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Dr. Pistiner is a pediatric allergist and director of food allergy advocacy, education and prevention of the Food Allergy Center at MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 4.2 million children under the age of 18. Every three minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room.

"It can be a difficult process for people with food allergies to develop trust in restaurant staff when ordering food," Winders says. "What can restaurants do to ensure patrons with food allergies stay safe and enjoy their time dining out? By working with the World Food Championships, Allergy & Asthma Network further broadens its reach to educate food industry professionals and the general public about the importance of food allergy awareness in the restaurant industry."

The Addressing Allergies in Food Service symposium will take place from 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Attendance is free. Register online at www.AllergyAsthmaNetwork.org/WFC; tickets are also available the morning of the event on a first-come, first-served basis. The symposium is made possible with support from biopharmaceutical company DBV Technologies.

About Allergy & Asthma Network

Allergy & Asthma Network is the leading national nonprofit organization dedicated to ending needless death and suffering due to asthma, allergies and related conditions. Allergy & Asthma Network specializes in sharing family-friendly, medically accurate information through its award-winning Allergy & Asthma Today magazine, E-newsletter, AllergyAsthmaNetwork.org and numerous community outreach programs.

World Food Championships

The World Food Championships (www.WorldFoodChampionships.com) features almost 500 culinary champions seeking food fame and fortune. The sixth annual event, scheduled for Nov. 8-12, 2017 at The Wharf in Orange Beach, Alabama, is comprised of 10 category championships that award chefs and cooks with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash and prizes. The Top 10 performers in the field move on to a high-stakes Final Table event in April 2018 for the ultimate bragging rights and a $100,000 prize purse. For all WFC updates, follow World Food Championships on Twitter (@WorldFoodChamp), and Facebook and Instagram (@WorldFoodChampionships).

Media Contact: 
Nicole Salerno 
5W Public Relations
646-843-1803 
[email protected]

SOURCE Allergy & Asthma Network

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