skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Saturday, May 3, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Trump signs order seeking to end federal funding for NPR and PBS; NY immigrant wrongfully sent to El Salvador 'supermax' prison; PA 'Day of Action' planned for higher minimum wage, immigrants' rights; New bill in Congress seeks to overturn CA animal welfare law.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

National Security Advisor Mike Waltz is leaving that job to become UN ambassador, bipartisan Arizona poll finds Latino voters dissatisfied by Trump's first 100 days, and Florida mass deportations frighten community members.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rural students who face hurdles going to college are getting noticed, Native Alaskans may want to live off the land but obstacles like climate change loom large, and the Cherokee language is being preserved by kids in North Carolina.

Sesame May Be Named Country's Ninth Major Allergen

play audio
Play

Tuesday, November 24, 2020   

BOSTON -- Some 1.5 million Americans are highly allergic to sesame, yet it isn't required to be listed on food labels. That may be about to change. The U.S. House has passed the FASTER Act, which would name sesame as one of only nine allergens that must be included on ingredient lists.

Lisa Gable, CEO of the nonprofit Food Allergy Research and Education or "FARE," said people may not realize sesame is found in many bread products and spice mixes, and is a main component of tahini and hummus.

"You know, as Middle Eastern and other types of food have become very popular in the United States, sesame has become a primary ingredient," Gable said. "It's one reason why you're seeing even more people suffer from anaphylaxis, because they've actually not been introduced to it through their lives."

In some people, sesame can cause blood pressure to plummet and their throat to close up - reactions that can be dangerous and even fatal without an immediate shot of epinephrine.

The FASTER Act generated no significant opposition and has dozens of co-sponsors, including Massachusetts Reps. William Keating, James McGovern and Lori Trahan. Next, it goes to a vote in the U.S. Senate.

Gable encourages people with allergies to use an app like Smart Label, which allows users to scan any product's QR code with the camera on their phone.

"And then you just swipe the product, and there is a tab on there that tells you every allergen that's in the product - at least, those that are required to be labeled," she said.

She said FARE has been working with the Food and Drug Administration and manufacturers on this for the past few years. Deadlines are coming up for several other labeling mandates, so manufacturers would be able to make all the changes at once.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
In Florida, Highway Patrol troopers and Border Patrol agents are also traveling together in the same vehicles to enforce immigration laws. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

While Gov. Ron DeSantis touts "Operation Tidal Wave" as a success, advocates for Florida's immigrant families say the crackdown is tearing them apart …


Social Issues

play sound

A new bipartisan poll looks at how Latino voters in Arizona are feeling about President Donald Trump's first 100 days in office - and pollsters descri…

Social Issues

play sound

A Minnesota proposal is in the works that supporters say would end forced labor in correctional facilities. They note the 13th Amendment was adopted …


Experts say Wildfire Community Preparedness Day on Saturday is a good time to move fuels and flammable materials away from homes. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

Montana's wildfire risk is 74% higher than other states, so experts are encouraging Montanans to think ahead Saturday on Wildfire Community …

Social Issues

play sound

Thousands are expected to rally in Harrisburg on Monday for a "Raise the Wage and Immigrant Rights Day of Action." More than 47,000 Pennsylvania work…

Marian University's David Benson spotting birds at the Nina Mason Pulliam EcoLab. Enrique Saenz/Mirror Indy

Environment

play sound

By Enrique Saenz for Mirror Indy. Broadcast version by Joe Ulery for Indiana News Service reporting for the Mirror Indy-Free Press Indiana-Public …

Social Issues

play sound

By Lauren Cohen / Broadcast version by Farah Siddiqi reporting for the Kent State NewsLab-Ohio News Connection Collaboration. S.B. 109, a bill that …

Social Issues

play sound

An Illinois law professor is weighing in on what she called a "very public and open test of due process" for immigrants being deported from the United…

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021