Should CA restaurants be required to list food allergens on menus?

A bill making its way through the California legislature would require restaurants to warn customers of nine common food allergens.

Senate Bill 68 — proposed by Sen. Caroline Menjivar, who represents the San Fernando Valley — would require the disclosure on a menu or in a digital format like a QR code.

During a conversation on AirTalk, LAist 89.3's daily news program, local restaurateurs raised some concerns about what more regulations could mean for an already struggling industry.

Which allergens are included?

The bill requires these nine food allergens be disclosed. This includes ingredients that have protein related to these allergens, but not refined oils associated with the respective food.

• Crustacean shellfish
• Eggs
• Fish
• Milk
• Peanuts
• Sesame
• Soybeans
• Tree nuts
• Wheat

Restaurant owners respond

Brett Thompson, chef and co-owner of Pez Cantina in downtown Los Angeles and Pez Coastal Kitchen in Pasadena, had mixed feelings on the proposal in the case of fine dining spots that usually change their menus more often.

"[It's] definitely harder to keep up with the allergen list versus fast food restaurants, where the menu doesn't really change very often," Thompson said.

James Boyles, partner and chef at 38 Degrees Ale House in Alhambra, worries about cross-contamination and how that could add confusion about what's required on menus.

" I think there needs to be a little bit of grace... where we are educating our staff as much as possible," Boyles added.

Adam in L.A., a 20-year veteran chef, called into the program and said ultimately customers need to take responsibility, but, " in the past, I've put all the allergens on the disclaimer to cover my bases at the bottom of my menu."

The push for more transparency

Robyn Lao, pediatric nurse and co-sponsor of the bill, responded to the concerns and pointed to research that shows nearly half of reactions to some food allergens come from food items at restaurants. She said more transparency can only help and potentially even benefit restaurant workers by streamlining answers to concerns and questions.

On frequent menu changes: " We know that there may be ingredient changes and things like that," Lao said, adding that the bill offers flexibility with digital or separate, print-out menus.

On cross-contamination: Lao said the bill requires labeling for the top nine allergens, but not for cross-contamination.

" For cross-contamination, we still encourage food allergy families to have verbal communication with staff," Lao said.

Each customer could make their own risk assessment after receiving that information.

On personal responsibility: Lao said she understands the bill " is not a 100% fail-safe."

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