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PRINTER'S NO. 1137
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE RESOLUTION
No. 145
Session of
2025
INTRODUCED BY CAPPELLETTI, MALONE, TARTAGLIONE, MARTIN, SCHWANK,
CULVER, FONTANA, COMITTA, HUGHES, BROWN, HAYWOOD, VOGEL AND
KANE, SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
REFERRED TO RULES AND EXECUTIVE NOMINATIONS, SEPTEMBER 4, 2025
A RESOLUTION
Recognizing September 13, 2025, as "Celiac Awareness Day" in
Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, September 13 has been nationally recognized as
"National Celiac Awareness Day"; and
WHEREAS, According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, celiac
disease is a serious autoimmune disease that occurs in
genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten
leads to damage in the small intestine; and
WHEREAS, Celiac disease is estimated to impact 1 in 133
people worldwide and approximately 2 million Americans,
including more than 129,000 Pennsylvanians; and
WHEREAS, Researchers are finding that celiac disease
prevalence is doubling approximately every 15 years, making it a
growing public health concern; and
WHEREAS, For people with celiac disease, gluten, a protein
found in wheat, barley and rye, is poisonous; and
WHEREAS, Even a trace amount, such as a crumb, can trigger an
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immune response leading the body to attack the small intestine;
and
WHEREAS, This intestinal damage can cause more than 200
debilitating symptoms; and
WHEREAS, According to the University of Chicago Celiac
Disease Center, gluten ingestion for people with celiac disease
causes permanent immunological scarring, doubles the risk of
heart disease and acts as a carcinogen, quadrupling the risk of
small intestinal cancers; and
WHEREAS, Celiac disease research is severely underfunded in
proportion to the scale of the disease, treatment burden and
lack of available treatment options; and
WHEREAS, According to an analysis published in 2017 by the
American Gastroenterological Association titled "Disparities
Among Gastrointestinal Disorders in Research Funding from the
National Institutes of Health," celiac disease receives the
lowest amount of National Institutes of Health funding over a
five-year period; and
WHEREAS, This funding averaged $3 million annually or $1.50
for every person with celiac disease in the United States; and
WHEREAS, Celiac disease research also received the lowest
amount of National Institutes of Health grants; and
WHEREAS, Currently, a strictly gluten-free lifetime diet is
the only way to manage the disease, and this is inadequate given
that 80% of foods contain gluten, therefore, there is a constant
risk of cross-contamination and gluten is not required to be
labeled on packaged foods in the United States; and
WHEREAS, On April 26, 2023, the Food Labeling Modernization
Act of 2023 was introduced in the United States Congress,
legislation which would make gluten the 10th major food allergen
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and require that gluten be labeled on all packaged foods in the
United States, bringing the country into alignment with 62 other
countries around the world, including Canada and across Europe;
and
WHEREAS, The connection between celiac disease and diet was
first established by Dr. Samuel Gee who wrote "if the patient
can be cured at all, it must be by means of diet"; and
WHEREAS, "Celiac Awareness Day" is observed each year on
September 13 to coincide with the birthday of Dr. Gee on
September 13, 1869; and
WHEREAS, The Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is an
institution that can raise awareness for celiac disease with the
general public and the medical community; therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
recognize September 13, 2025, as "Celiac Awareness Day" in
Pennsylvania; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
encourage the 119th Congress to take action to support greater
funding for research into celiac disease; and be it further
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
encourage the 119th Congress to pass the Food Labeling
Modernization Act of 2025 (H.R. 4725); and be it further
RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
the presiding officers of each House of Congress and to each
member of Congress from Pennsylvania.
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