CA Restaurants Must List Allergens On Menus Under New Law

California restaurants will be the first in the nation to be required to disclose major allergens on menus starting next year after Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday signed Senate Bill 68 into law.

The bill requires food facilities with 20 locations or more to include on their menus — or in a digital format — written notification for each menu item of the top nine major food allergens, which include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, sesame and soybeans, according to a news release from the bill’s author, state Sen. Caroline Menjivar, D-San Fernando Valley.

“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,” Menjivar said in the news release.

Menjivar was inspired to pursue the bill after a 9-year-old, identified as Addie in the news release, suggested the idea. Menjivar said she herself has been hospitalized multiple times after accidentally eating food she is allergic to at restaurants.

Sara Zendehnam of the California Restaurant Association, in a July video posted to the organization’s YouTube channel, expressed concerns about the liability created by the bill.

The law is set to go into effect on July 1, 2026.