HB3495 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB099 10568 JLK 30795 b

99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
HB3495

Introduced , by Rep. Robyn Gabel

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

410 ILCS 625/5 new

Amends the Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act. Requires restaurants to be aware of food allergy recalls from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Requires restaurants to indicate on a placard, poster, or menu that consumers with food allergies should inform a waiter or waitress of the restaurant of their allergy. Sets forth the requirements for the placard or poster or menu information.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning health.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 1. The General Assembly recognizes that:

(1) the 2013 Food Code published by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognizes that food allergies are a food safety issue;

(2) 8.5% of children aged 14 to 18 have a food allergy;

(3) the National Restaurant Association estimates that the restaurant industry receives 47% of the consumer's food dollar;

(4) the free movement of safe and wholesome food is an essential aspect of the market and contributes significantly to the health and well-being of citizens and to their social and economic interests;

(5) to achieve a level of health protection for consumers and to guarantee their right to information, it should be ensured that consumers are appropriately informed as regards the food they consume;

(6) that there has been a massive recall over the spice cumin that has been cross-contacted with peanut, one of the 8 major allergens listed in the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004; and

(7) the U.S. Food and Drug Administration estimated that it affected 350,000 pounds of beef, pork, and poultry, in addition to hundreds of other products containing cumin.

Section 5. The Food Handling Regulation Enforcement Act is amended by adding Section 5 as follows:

(410 ILCS 625/5 new)

Sec. 5. Food allergen information in restaurants. Restaurants, including Category I facilities and Category II facilities under 77 Ill. Adm. Code 750.10, must be aware of food allergy recalls. The food safety sanitation manager at a Category I facility or Category II facility must sign up for the federal Food and Drug Administration food safety recalls for notification in an electronic format, such as by text message or electronic mail, to determine if any of the major food allergens, as defined in the Food Allergy Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, are involved in a recall. The food sanitation manager is responsible for receiving the recalls, notifying the restaurant staff, and checking the establishment's supplies.

In addition to receiving notifications, the restaurant must put a placard, poster, or notification on its menu that customers with food allergies should notify a waiter or waitress of the restaurant if they have a food allergy. Any placard or poster shall be easily accessible, visible, and clearly legible to the consumer, with a font height of at least 3/4 inch, and shall not be hidden, obscured, or detracted from by any other written or pictorial matter. Any information on menus should be clearly legible to the consumer, with a font size of no less than 12 point in a non-condensed type.