Chain restaurants in California will soon be required to change their menus to alert customers of the nine major food allergens.
A state Senate bill approved by California Governor Gavin Newsom last October stated that restaurants with 20 or more locations under the same brand must list the major food allergens that the chain “knows or reasonably should know are contained as an ingredient in each menu item.”
The new rule will be enforced starting Wednesday.
Fern Hastings, a senior environmental health specialist for Shasta County, told local outlet KRCR in January that some chains — including Italian restaurant Olive Garden and fast food joints McDonald’s and Taco Bell — have already begun changing their menus.
“It’s definitely important for people who are allergic to things to know what’s available that they can actually consume,” Hastings said.
open image in galleryThe nine major food allergens recognized by the Food and Drug Administration are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans and sesame.
When a person has a food allergy, their immune system reacts to certain proteins in food, which can cause mild symptoms such as hives and lip swelling or more severe symptoms that could involve fatal respiratory issues and shock, the FDA warns.
California’s bill states that a food ingredient that contains proteins derived from one of the nine major food allergens must also be included on a chain restaurant’s menu.
open image in galleryThe restaurants must include food allergen information either on a physical menu or in a digital format. But if a customer does not have access to the digital menu, the chains must provide a physical copy of the allergen information.
Caroline Menjivar — the state senator who introduced the bill and has been hospitalized several times for unintentionally eating food she was allergic to at restaurants — celebrated when Newsom signed it into law.
“I know the 4 million Californians with food allergies, and their families, will enjoy the increased peace of mind as they dine together at these qualifying restaurants,” she said in an October statement.
open image in galleryMenjivar was presented with the idea for the bill by a child food allergy advocate named Addie.
Addie, then 9 years old, said in a statement shared by the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America in October that the bill “is so important so adults and kids like me with allergies can eat safely.
“I learned that even though I’m just a kid, I can make a big difference,” Addie said.
Kenneth Mendez, the president and CEO of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, said at the time that the bill “will save lives by ensuring that families like mine can finally dine out without fear or guesswork about what’s in our food.”
But Chef Josh Cleveland with C&C Catering in Redding, California, has suggested the new law may be unnecessary, calling on restaurants and their customers to communicate better.
“Instead of kind of shoving it down everybody’s throat, maybe the restaurants become a little more educated and aware service staff, and being able to communicate to the kitchen and guest being able to talk to the service staff,” Cleveland told KRCR.
“If the customer knows more about what they can and can’t eat, then they can tell the staff what they can and can’t eat,” he added. “It’s everybody’s part, you can just put it all on the restaurant.”