True food allergies are more than just the sniffles. They can cause severe reactions and even be deadly. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), over 15 million Americans have food allergies, with the number of children suffering from them increasing 50 percent since 1997. Across the Pacific Northwest, allergists are seeing this national trend play out in their own practices with their numbers also doubling. It is a growing public health crisis.

To address this crisis, Asthma Inc Clinical Research Center /Northwest Asthma and Allergy Center, Benaroya Research Institute/ Virginia Mason Allergy, Seattle Children’s Hospital/Seattle Children’s Research Institute, and UW Medicine Allergy have joined forces to form The Seattle Food Allergy Consortium (SeaFAC). SeaFAC’s goal is to bring together Seattle’s leading clinicians in food allergy and local research organizations to create a food allergy center that can bring cutting-edge treatments and research to our area.

Creating this center of expertise will allow SeaFAC to attract new clinical trials and federal and private funding for ongoing research and education. Through community outreach, SeaFAC also hopes to stimulate local fundraising efforts and build a base of food allergic individuals willing to help advance food allergy therapies by participating in scientific studies and therapy trials.

For more information, see the full SeaFac press release.