“ Eating at the restaurant is really really dangerous ”: 17 -year -old Californian with a severe peanut allergy welcomes the legislation on disclosure of the restaurant menu

“Eating at the restaurant is really really dangerous. This is something I try to avoid,” said Kimura, 17, at home in San Jose. “When I’m going to eat, obviously, I always bring my epiphens, and I’m really nervous all the time.”

Restaurants in California could soon become a little less stressful for Braxton and the growing number of Americans suffering from serious food allergies.

State legislators should vote on legislation that would make California the first American state to demand that restaurants disclose if one of the menu contains one of the nine most common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, trees, peanuts, wheat, sesame and sofa.

Restaurants could publish information on allergens on physical menus, an allergen graph, a specific menu for allergens or other printed materials. They can also publish a QR code to access a digital menu that lists allergens. Food trucks and carts would not be required to make changes.

In September, the Legislative Assembly should vote on Bill 68 of the Senate, known as the law on the disclosure of allergens for catering experiences (ADDE). If it is approved and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom, the new law would take effect on July 1, 2026.

“It is really to protect the millions of people in California who have allergies like me,” said the Senator of the Democratic State Caroline Menjivar in the San Fernando Valley, who presented the bill earlier this year.

Menjivar, who is seriously allergic to most nuts and fruit, said she had to go to hospital several times for anaphylaxis – a potentially fatal allergic reaction – to something that she accidentally consumed.

The South California legislator had the idea of ​​legislation last year while traveling to Europe, which forced restaurants to disclose food allergens since 2014.

Shortly after Menjivar’s return to the United States, she was approached to sponsor the legislation by parents whose girl presents serious allergies.

Since then, Addie Lao, 9, has become the most visible defender of the bill, appearing in social media videos, information interviews and legislative hearings.

“I want to be able to eat with my friends and family like everyone else,” said the third student of state senators in Sacramento in April. “I have to avoid the foods I am allergic because it is like a poison for my body and I can hurt myself.”

The bill has the support of many groups representing doctors and people with asthma and allergies.

But California Restaurant Association opposes legislation. The group claims that the law would increase costs and charges on restaurants which already have trouble with the increase in food prices, prices, labor shortages and consumers concerned about costs.

The catering industry wants more flexibility in the way information on allergens is displayed as well as more responsibility protection.

“You are entering a situation where the menu becomes heavy and it becomes incredibly impractical and expensive to constantly convert the menus with each change of ingredient that can occur and the need to make a new notification of allergy,” said Matton Sutton, main vice-president of California Restaurant Association.

Some restaurant channels – such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Olive Garden – already publish information on allergens on their menus.

Brian Hom, who has two restaurants from Vitality Bowl in San Jose, is one of the largest donors in the bill. Her eldest son died the 18th birthday in 2008 after having accidentally eaten peanuts in a seaside resort in Mexico.

This legislation “will save lives,” said Hom. “I don’t want to see anyone suffering from what my wife and I suffered.”

It is estimated that 33 million Americans, including nearly 4 million in California, have at least one food allergy, according to research and education on non -profit food allergies (tariff). And the figures increase.

Among them, Kimura, who was diagnosed with food allergies at 14 months, when he was transported urgently to hospital with anaphylactic shock after eating an peanut of the soil.

“I still have to be careful,” said Kimura.

Kimura, a high school student and basketball player, launched an initiative entitled Beyond the Shell, who produced a documentary entitled “The Last Bite” which shows what it is to live with potentially fatal allergies.

Even if SB 68 becomes the law, Kimura says that it still needs to speak to the restaurant staff to ensure that the dishes are allergens without allergens and that there is no cross contamination, but the allergens labels would reduce the stress of eating in restaurants.

“It would give me more peace of mind and to overall a better environment and more awareness of food allergies as a whole,” said Kimura. “It is definitely a step in the right direction.”