FARE Letter to the Honorable Caroline Menjivar, Chair of the California State Senate Health Committee

April 2, 2025

The Honorable Caroline Menjivar, Chair
Senate Health Committee
1021 O Street, Room 3310
Sacramento, CA 95814

Re: SB 68: Restaurant Menu Labelling Mandate: Allergens
OPPOSE

Dear Chairwoman Menjivar,

On behalf of Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE) and the California Restaurant Association (CRA), we respectfully submit this letter in opposition to SB 68, the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act.

We share your goal of improving safety and transparency for Californians with food allergies. For the 3 million Californians living with this disease, the dining experience is too often fraught with risk. We are working to change that — by building safer, smarter, and inclusive solutions that benefit both food allergy guests and restaurant operators.

Unfortunately, SB 68 risks doing the opposite. By mandating a static, one-size-fits-all menu labeling system, the legislation could inadvertently create a false sense of security for food allergy guests — suggesting that menu labels alone provide full protection when they often cannot capture the complexity of restaurant operations, cross-contact risks, or frequent ingredient changes. Worse, we fear the legislation’s burdensome compliance model could lead some restaurants to stop serving food allergy guests altogether, out of fear of liability or difficulty maintaining up-to-date disclosures.

For too long, we have relied on outdated solutions to address food allergy—solutions that are merely Band-Aids rather than lasting fixes that truly benefit the food allergy community. 

As you and many others have experienced while traveling the world, other countries are already embracing these dynamic 21st century solutions. Australia, for example has already recognized the need for a dynamic approach and is quickly moving toward technology-driven solutions. Rather than relying on a static approach that leaves the U.S. behind, we should be working to create a dynamic, best-in-class solution that leads by example. 

Instead of offering a false sense of security with traditional approaches, we should promote a system that is reliable, adaptive, and aligned with the modern needs of those affected by food allergy. 
Your leadership on this issue has been instrumental in helping FARE and the CRA to come together — for the first time in over a decade — to promote technology-driven, systems-based approaches that enable restaurants to deliver real-time allergen transparency. When implemented thoughtfully, these tools and processes can lead to greater transparency to diners with food allergies and give restaurants the flexibility to communicate accurately across dine-in, online, and mobile channels.

The food allergy community represents a growing segment of the population, known for its brand loyalty and high repeat purchasing behavior when trust is established. Through collaborative efforts, we are working to build a win-win model where food allergy guests can dine with greater confidence and restaurants can grow their businesses by serving this underserved and highly engaged group.

We respectfully urge you to consider the unintended consequences of SB 68’s rigid approach, and instead support collaborative, scalable strategies that promote meaningful allergen transparency, public safety, and economic opportunity.

Thank you for your leadership on this critical issue and for your thoughtful consideration.

We welcome the opportunity to continue working with you and your staff to create a safer and more inclusive dining landscape for all Californians.

Sincerely,

Sung Poblete, PhD, RN 
CEO Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE)

Matt Sutton
Senior Vice President, Government Affairs & Public Policy 
California Restaurant Association