California bill would require restaurants to disclose food allergens on menus

Category: (Self-Study) Health

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Braxton Kimura dreads eating at restaurants. The California teenager is severely allergic to peanuts, shellfish and most tree nuts. Consuming even a tiny amount could send him to the emergency room. “Eating out is definitely really dangerous. It’s something that I try to avoid,” Kimura, 17, said at his home in San Jose. “When dining out, obviously, I always bring my EpiPens, and I’m really nervous all the time.”

Restaurant dining in California could soon become less stressful for Braxton and the growing number of Americans with severe food allergies. State lawmakers are set to vote on legislation that would make California the first U.S. state to require restaurants to disclose whether a menu item contains any of the nine most common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, sesame and soybeans.

Restaurants could post the allergen information on physical menus, an allergen chart, allergen-specific menus or other printed materials. They can also post a QR code to access a digital menu that lists allergens.

In September, the Legislature is expected to vote on Senate Bill 68, known as the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act (ADDE). If approved and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the new law would take effect on July 1, 2026.

Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-San Fernando Valley) introduced the bill earlier this year. Menjivar, who is severely allergic to most nuts and fruits, said she’s had to go to the hospital multiple times for anaphylaxis—a life-threatening allergic reaction—because she accidentally consumed an allergen.

The Southern California lawmaker got the idea for the legislation last year while traveling in Europe, which has required restaurants to disclose food allergens since 2014. The bill has the backing of numerous groups representing medical practitioners and people who suffer from asthma and allergies.

This article and video were provided by The Associated Press.

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[Braxton Kimura playing basketball]

[Braxton Kimura making a sandwich at home]

Braxton Kimura (interview): “So I was first diagnosed with my food allergy when I was 14 months old, in October of 2009. I had eaten a peanut on the floor and was rushed to the hospital immediately. So I’m anaphylactic to peanuts, shellfish, and have a severe tree nut allergy.”

[Kimura working at computer]

[Screen showing the website of Kimura’s documentary “The Last Bite”]

[Kimura at computer]

[A pair of EpiPen allergy treatments]

Braxton Kimura (interview): “Eating out is definitely really dangerous. It’s something that I try to avoid, but it’s ultimately inevitable because you have to eat out with your family, with your friends. So yeah when dining out, obviously I always bring my EpiPens and I’m really nervous all the time.”

[Braxton Kimura and his mother looking at the wall menu at Vitality Bowls restaurant

[Digital menu on the wall]

[Kimura looking at ingredients on a bag of chips]

[Kimura eating acai fruit bowl]

[Kimura eating at Vitality Bowls restaurant]

Sen. Caroline Menjivar: “So SB 68 is looking to do what a lot of restaurants are already doing – disclose the main allergens that are FDA mentioned and put them on their menus.”

[Senators in hearing room]

Addie Lao: “Please pass SB 68 ADDE so that restaurants will label the top nine allergens on their menus. This will keep me safe.”

[Chef cooking egg dishes in the kitchen of Mac’s Deli and Café]

[Waitress serving food to customers]

Matt Sutton (interview): “You get into a situation where the menu becomes unwieldy and it becomes incredibly impractical and expensive to be constantly converting menus out with each ingredient shift that may occur and the need to do a new allergy notification.”

[Brian Hom sitting at a table talking to Carol and Braxton Kimura in Vitality Bowls restaurant]

Brian Hom (interview): “I’m Bryan Hom, food allergy advocate, parent of a son who has a food allergy and actually lost a son, who was 18 years old to a peanut allergy.”

[Brian Hom taking customer’s order]

Brian Hom (interview): “As a restaurant owner, I’m in full support of that. Not because only my son had passed, but it’s going to save lives.”

[Braxton Kimura eating at Vitality Bowls]

[EpiPen]

Braxton Kimura (interview): “I think it would definitely save me time. It would kind of give me more of a peace of mind and would overall just create a better environment and more awareness around food allergies as a whole.”

[Employees prepping ingredients at Vitality Bowls]

Carol Kimura (interview): “There’s still the opportunity for cross contamination. And that is something that having allergens on a menu is not gonna be enough.”

[Paper menu at Vitality Bowl]

Carol Kimura (interview): “It’s another layer of transparency, but does not replace communications and that still does need to happen.”

[Braxton and Carol Kimura talking at Vitality Bowls restaurant]

This script was provided by The Associated Press.