328: US Food Regulations Pertaining to Food Allergies - An Update

Tracy Stuckrath [00:00:02]:
Hey everybody and welcome to another episode of Eating in a Meeting. There was no promotion on this live. I am just going live with myself today and you all and I wanted to talk about some the food allergy regulations that are coming down that are coming out across the country. And I just thought it was an important thing to update you all on what kind of things are coming through legally wise and or legally regulation wise in the states. And and as with the FDA food code. So there's a couple of things, quite a few things that are brewing across the country as it relates to food allergy safety and training as well as food allergy labeling and, and understanding what's in our food. So the first one that I want to talk about is and a couple I've already talked about these on the podcast a little bit with guests. So I'm re, I'm re hashing them for you a little bit and please let me know if you've got any kind of questions with it.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:01:15]:
The first one that I want to talk about, which I haven't talked on the podcast before, is actually Pennsylvania's house bill number 77 and that is for the state of Pennsylvania. And lawmakers and food allergy advocates have joined forces across the I'm going to say across the aisle to push for passage of legislation that would make the state's restaurants and other food retail establishments safer for people with food allergies. It is primary sponsors are Republican Arvind Venkat and Natalie Malik from Pennsylvania and it did pass in the House earlier this year. And it is requiring that. Let's see. I'm going to make sure that I have this right. It's requiring that training be required for any food service person coming through working in a restaurant or food facility have training on food allergies, require restaurants and food service establishments to display informational posters advising employees about major food allergens and the symptoms of an allergic reaction. They would also be required to include a statement on their menu on whether written notice to customers about food allergies being used and request that customers inform the employees serving them about their food allergies.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:02:51]:
So it is not about labeling of their menu items, but it is about regulating or providing clearer training for all food service handlers instead of Pennsylvania around food allergens. And this is an important step and I do want to advocate or do want to say too that in the Pennsylvania was the first state to adopt the 2022 Food Code back in 2023, saying that unpackaged food should be labeled with the Top nine allergens. So this will actually be very much of an addition to that. It still needs to go to the state or the Senate Agricultural and Rural Affairs Committee to to get to go further into the Senate and pass. So I that's an important step forward. Training for food service handlers is really, really important to understand that. I will put a link to this press conference that happened and let me get that comment. I'm going to put a comment in here with the link to the press conference press conference that talks about it.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:04:11]:
And and again I'm gonna put the headline in here what we're talking about. So whoever has joined me, thank you for joining me. And let's see, we're talk Natasha Carry. Hi honey, I haven't seen you. She's on Instagram. So we're talk. I am talking about here US Food regulations pertaining to food allergies and just updating you on the variety of things that are happening across the country, federally as well as statewide as it relates to food allergies. That first one I just posted is a press conference about what happened in Pennsylvania.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:04:53]:
And Andrea Doyle, thank you from SKIFT for sending me that story as well, but would love to get some more information about that as well. Hoping to talk to the senator on that on the show too. In California it is California Senate Bill 68, the allergen disclosure for Dining Experiences, also known as the Addie Act. I had Addie and her mom on the show a couple of weeks ago. And to talk about this, it has passed one more step in moving forward in the state of California. And this would require that all food in restaurants and food service establishments be labeled if it contains any of the top nine allergens. So this is going a step above Pennsylvania and requiring that food actually be labeled on the menus. So it is not just the training, it is requiring training as well.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:05:57]:
But this is really about disclosing allergens so that when you as a guest in that restaurant actually can understand what those hidden allergens are that you might not see by just reading the menu that actually has passed and is moving forward. There are. I'm trying to find the link for that one. The Where'd it go? Here we go. Nope, wrong one. Sorry. I'll find that in a second and post the links to that one. But that one is moving forward as well to and so it has to get approval in one more side and they will be meeting in July for that and I'm trying to find that list.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:06:46]:
I'll find it for you and give it to you. So California is going a little bit further in the state of Illinois. I had Senator from Illinois on there on the show last week or the week before last week to talk about the Senate Bill 1288, which is groundbreaking legislation that will require all Illinois food handlers to be trained on celiac disease and gluten free safety. So this is a different, it's different in all the other ones because it's the training has always been focused on food allergies, not just celiac. And this one is focused on celiac and gluten free training for food service handlers. And the senator was instrumental in doing this because she witnessed her chief of staff having trouble eating at a restaurant and gave her a grid and told her to figure out what she could eat based on that grid. So it is a. Will help provide the training and it is actually been passed by both sides and is headed to the, it is actually on the governor's desk to sign into law next month.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:08:08]:
So I'm going to, I just put the link into that conversation that I had with the senator last week on that so you can watch that show. It was really interesting to listen to her and what she's learned, you know, on the impact of if you do have celiac or you do have, you don't non celiac gluten sensitivity, the impact that it has on your dining experience physically as well as mentally. So, so it was really interesting to hear the senator's take on that and why she's working forward on that. So again, that's Pennsylvania, California, Illinois. Those are all acts that are currently in the process of getting passed to require food safety training as well as labeling in those different states. And then the other one that I want to talk about today is also the tobacco, the ttb I had a show on, I had a show a couple of months ago about the regulations that the TTB wants to put on require allergy alcohol facts labeling, including major allergen labeling for alcoholic beverages. So currently alcohol does not have to require any kind of labeling on it as it pertains to calories or nutrition information or allergens that it includes. So this, this is still in process and they actually are taking comments until August from the public on how this would work.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:10:02]:
So I'm going to provide that, I'm going to provide the links to that. This is the one, the link that I'm providing now I'm going to say this is the allergen labeling, allergen labeling that we can post comments on as consumers. And then this one is about. The next one is about the nutrition information. Nutrition information for alcohol. Both of these are hugely important to understand because again, those are not currently required on alcohol. And there are a lot of hidden allergens in alcohols, whether it's from the processing, the processing phase of making the alcohol or hidden ingredients in the alcohol. And the processing could include eggs, it can include wheat.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:11:03]:
And then ingredients can be a variety of different things, whether it's nuts or, you know, peanuts or nuts or eggs again in that filtration process. So this is still open for not debate but open up for comments that the TTB has said and let me find what that exactly where that is. Oh yeah, the. So it's notice 237 and notice 238. The TTB is respect proposing to require disclosure of per serving alcohol calorie nutrition content information in the. In an alcohol facts statement like the white statement on the box on the side of a box. Food and disclose of all major food allergens used in the production of alcoholic beverages. On all alcoholic beverage labels subject to the TTB's regulatory authority.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:12:01]:
It is proposing compliance of five years from the date of publication. So if it gets approved tomorrow, then they have five years to do that for any final rules resulting from these proposals. And so and they have extended it the comments phase to be until August 15th. So we still have another two months to make any kind of comments on this as it relates. So as a consumer who has food allergies or as a business who has, who sells alcohol and you want to comment on this, please do. There are people who have lost their lives from undisclosed allergens, gone into anaphylactic shock because undisclosed allergens on alcohol. So I think this is a really important bill that would come through that would be nationwide for that. And again it would not become effective for five years once it's finalized.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:12:59]:
So we're 2025. So probably I'm sure people will do the labeling before then, but we're looking at 2030, 2031 for it to be finalized. And so please take a look at that. And then what was there was oh, the food code, the food code, the 2022 food code, which I mentioned briefly a few minutes ago. The FDA food code is a guideline for states to adopt as it relates to their own food code. So whether it's statewide food code or a county food code, that is they use the FDA food code as a guideline for what they design their own food codes for well, there is a states have I'm going to pull up this adoption. The Retail Food Safety Regulatory Association Collaborative actually has a dashboard showing you which states and territories have adopted the food code, which food codes that they are. They have done and currently the state there are Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Mississippi, Indiana, Ohio, Hawaii.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:14:30]:
Oh, that's a new one. Since I looked at it last time. Georgia, Connecticut, Illinois, Colorado and Mississippi have adopted the 2022 Food Code. I'm still digging in to find out exactly what aspects of each of those food codes that they are adopting. I did talk to one state and they said they were adopting everything but the line about allergens. I'm going to reconfirm that before I name that state. So really looking at that and the I know the state of Colorado told me that they are the state is adopting the food code as is except for the county and city of color of Denver. They have their own food code and they're adopting I need to figure out which parts they're adopting of the food of the FDA food code.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:15:21]:
So that makes it a little questionable on doing events and how you manage the food code in different counties inside a state. But the food code, the 2022 food code does say the major change in the 2022 food code. And I'm going to give you post that food code link right there for you. Let me see if there's anybody on Instagram over here that has a question. Hello, Chef Megan. The biggest changes to the food code in 2022, and I've talked about this before is that the it does say that unpackaged food should be labeled if it contains any of the top nine allergens. And so that and that's in bulk food. And I'm only naming the only naming the changes the big changes that actually relate to food allergens.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:16:23]:
One is that to revise the definition of the term major food allergen in subparagraph 1A of to add the word sesame as the ninth major food allergen effective January 1, 2023. And then the cross reference to major food allergens labeling in bulk food available for consumer dispensing and to 3360212 is amended to add that subset C to inform consumers of major food allergens and unpackaged food via written means. And so that means that unpackaged food should be available for the end attendee, the end eater to be able to understand what the allergens are. And I'm going to find read exactly what that says amended public reasons for 3330 2.11 to revise paragraph 2 to appropriate characterize terminology from allergen cross cont. To allergen cross contact. So they're talking about the differences in those as well. Okay, so 3.602.12amended public health reasons to add paragraph 3 under the subheading food labels and other forms of information and added a new paragraph to address inclusion of written notification of food allergens in unpackaged food. And so that is saying that again, when we're serving buffets, when we're serving restaurant food, it should be labeled.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:18:13]:
Their recommendation is that allergens be the top nine allergens be labeled so that you and I, as the consumer or the attendee at an event, knows what those allergens are. Top nine allergens, which is wheat, egg, soy, milk, tree nuts, peanuts, fish, sesame and. What did I say? Milk, a tree, nuts, peanuts, fish. Oh my gosh. The top nine peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy, milk, egg, sesame and wheat. Sorry, I need to make sure I got them all in there. So that is what the FDA food code does require or does suggest that they do. Going back to the to the states that have adopted the 2022 Food Code, I am researching exactly what they will be doing in each of those things as well as putting out when those become effective.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:19:17]:
The other one that I want to bring up too is also the Sergio Lopez Food Allergy Awareness act that is in the state of Texas that actually was enacted in 2023 and became effective in September 1st of 2024. And that requires any food established in the state of Texas to require, similar to Pennsylvania, that all food service handlers must do allergen training. There must be posters put up in the employee areas that are doing food service as well as information on food allergy reactions. The last I understood, it had not been added to the food code yet of Texas. So I need to follow up on that. But that is a law. So when you're doing events in Texas, please ask the establishments there to see the allergy posters. Ask them who's been.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:20:18]:
It does require training as well. So ask them who has gone through the food allergy training in the state of Texas from their food handler side and when that information has been updated and how often they do that training. There are a lot of things brewing and in the works across the country as it relates to food allergen safety. And I think it's really important as a meeting professional to understand what these rules and regulations are. So that we can make sure that when we're contracting with a venue or contracting with a catering company, we can ask these questions and understand what they're doing and how they're doing it and if they're following the law of that state. Because we definitely want to make sure that they are following the rule of the law, you know, in that state. But again, we also, you know, you might want to check if you, if you don't get an answer. And I did this, I did this in Texas last year.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:21:23]:
One of my catering, one of my hotels said, I don't have any idea what the Sergio Lopez Food Allergy Training act is. And so I called the health department and I asked the health department, I said, I, you know, I know this became law on September 1st of 2024. Why do these, why does this hotel in your county not know anything about it? And so it does take time. But the more that we ask about them, when the more we ask about these laws and these regulations and understanding how our partners, food safety partners, Food Catering partners, manage allergens is really, really important. It's not only, it's important for not only the safety of our attendees, but it's important for the credibility of you as the event host, the credibility as the venue of that and the risk involved. The last thing that you want to do is have two weddings, have two events, have an event where somebody goes to the hospital from a food allergic reaction. I was doing a podcast episode, being interviewed today on a podcast. I was asked the question about, you know, food allergies and things.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:22:35]:
But this gentleman also shared an event where they were the attendees asked to meet with the chef and interview the food service people at the venue that they were hosting their event after the fact to basically say thank you for what they were doing and how they made them feel. They put that out on social media. That wasn't the attend any event planner. That wasn't the venue doing it. That was an attendee who was made to feel safe and included with the food and beverage they were serving. They put it out on their social media and which then got that venue some high credibility for what they do and how they manage food allergies. So I want those to be the stories that we're talking about, like, hey, this venue did this and, and this venue did this and you know, in positive light versus, hey, this venue. Somebody died at this venue because they didn't label food right.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:23:33]:
They didn't know what was in their food. Two months ago, I did an event and I just Posted this on my own social media about a gentleman who, you know, requested Halal two days before the event. And the chef at the JW Marriott in Austin was like, sure, no problem, and accommodated him with multiple meals over the, over the three or four days that he was there. And that gentleman, similar to the one from that I mentioned earlier just a minute ago, he wanted to meet with the chef and he wanted to thank that chef personally for the great food that he was provided to meet his Halal diet. And, and they're like, they took a picture together and I think the, not the relationship, but the, the respect from both sides of them. Like the chef respected his needs and actually communicate shared with the fact that he networked or not chatted with a culinary intern at the hotel to talk about, hey, you're from India. Can you help me come up with some menu ideas and authentic menu ideas. And then the attendee was so appreciative that the, the authenticity of the flavors.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:24:49]:
He was blown away by how good the food was. So there's respect on both sides of that conversation. I shared that story. My client shared that story. Chef's general manager of the hotel shared that story. So that is, that's the kind of story that I want to go viral. I don't want the story of a kid dying or a person at your event going viral because they, because something was unlabeled. So again, I just, I'm, I'm really talking about the legislation that's coming around across the country.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:25:22]:
I touched on Pennsylvania and you can find the links in there, which is House Bill 77 requiring restaurants and food retail establishments to informational posters on food allergens and the symptoms and putting a label on their menus. And just so you know, there's a couple of other states that already have that kind of information. I'm going to go to my Thrive website real quick and resources. I'll put this link up here for you, which I still need to do. I still need to update this with some of these food regulations that are coming across right now. But I'll give this link to you now. Let's see. So the Restaurant Allergy Act.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:26:11]:
So Massachusetts has a restaurant Allergy act to display food allergy awareness posters in staff areas and notifications on menus. That's been around for quite a few years now. Virginia in 2015 enacted HB2090. The state board of Health is required to include training standards that address food safety and food allergy awareness and its safety regulations. St. Paul, Minnesota enacted a food allergy ordinance that requires all establishments with restaurant license to display the approved allergen awareness poster and provide 7% discount on restaurant catering license. That's for the restaurants. Michigan in 2015 Public Act 516 certified food out food safety managers in most restaurants are required to take training course with food allergen awareness component.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:27:09]:
Rhode island in 2012 restaurants are required to display food allergy awareness poster in the staff area, incorporate customer notification on all menus and menu boards. And then New York City requires food service establishments to display posters with information on food allergy inconspicuous places for the staff for the food service staff. So there are, I mean that's one, two, that's six states right there. And then we've got Pennsylvania, California, Illinois. So that takes 10 states that actually now have some food safety allergen information in there that it's coming, you know, it's already enacted or it's coming to fruition. And and then we've got the alcohol, the TTB which will require food allergy information disclosure information on alcoholic beverages. So there's a lot going on. It's a lot to know.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:28:09]:
I will try to keep you updated on where everything is and you can also reference back to the episodes from each of these guests that I've spoken to about this. If you go to eating.com. let's see, let's. I'll post that up there and you can see all the eating@ameeting.com and that is a website with all 310 episodes of the show. But I will actually create a filter that you can do for food allergy laws and regulations and you can listen to all of the episodes that are related to that and then you can also find them on my YouTube channel. And the I don't actually where did it go? And you can find all of those different informations about the conversations that I've had with attorneys on this as well as different advocates across and senators and different advocates across the. So thanks for tuning in. If you have any questions about the food allergy laws and regulations that are coming about or that are currently in process, please let me know.

Tracy Stuckrath [00:29:26]:
I'm here to help. I'm here to help you reduce your risk and create safer, more inclusive food and beverage experiences. So thanks and until then, stay safe. Until next time, stay safe and eat well. Thanks.