Danville Family Who Lost Daughter To Food Allergy Sees Law Signed

DANVILLE, CA — A state bill spurred on by a Danville family who lost their young daughter in July 2013 to a peanut allergy has been signed by Governor Gavin Newsom. The bill was introduced by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan (D-Orinda) in honor of Natalie Giorgi, 13, who died following a severe reaction to a Rice Krispie treat that turned out to contain peanut butter.

After receiving broad bipartisan support in both houses, the Natalie Giorgi Sunshine Act (AB 1532) was signed into law Tuesday. The new law protects individuals with severe food allergies by requiring all food handlers to have a certification in safe food handling practices for major food allergens, according to the bill's text.

The bill adds “Organized Camps” to the definition of “Food Facility” for the basis of requiring training for individuals who handle food at camps. Natalie died while at a camp with her family in the Eldorado National Forest near Sacramento after taking one bite of the Rice Krispie treat. She died even though her father, a physician, gave her three successive doses of epinephrine.

For six years, the Giorgi family — Natalie's twin sister Danielle, and two younger siblings, Catherine and Michael, along with their parents, Louis and Joanne — have worked to get legislation passed in an effort to prevent other tragedies like the one they have suffered. They created the Natalie Giorgi Sunshine Foundation in order to help reduce dangerous food allergy deaths by spreading public awareness, providing education regarding emergency responses and increasing the availability of epinephrine injectors in public places.

In the United States, as many as 15 million people have a food allergy, including 6 million children, Bauer-Kahan's office reported. According to the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, food allergies result in more than 200,000 ambulatory care visits a year involving children under the age of 18.