NO CHRISTMAS COOKIES?
It was just before last Christmas that Heather Steinbrink found out that she and her 4-year-old daughter Audrey had to cross Christmas cookies, crackers and gravy-soaked mashed potatoes off their list of holiday indulgences. After Steinbrink’s mother was diagnosed with Celiac disease—a form of gluten intolerance remedied with a gluten-free diet—she and her daughter also tested positive.
Approximately 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies, with 6.9 million allergic to seafood and 3.3 million allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. Read more
TOUGH ON MOLD
State Sen. Liz Krueger rallied with asthmatic families outside City Hall on Tuesday to push the New York State Toxic Mold Taskforce for stricter regulations. Tenants showed up wearing protective masks and holding moldy pieces of wall and their asthma pumps. Krueger and the families want the city and state to adopt enforceable regulations for mold problems, which have been linked to asthma, and also to provide better inspection training for government employees. At press time, the taskforce was scheduled to hold a hearing to amend current mold regulations on Sept. 23.
