Bill Text: IL HB3495 | 2015-2016 | 99th General Assembly | Introduced

---

Bill Title: 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.

Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 3)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-04-24 - Rule 19(a) / Re-referred to Rules Committee [HB3495 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2015-HB3495-Introduced.html

---

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.
LRB099 10568 JLK 30795 b
FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY
A BILL FOR
HB3495 LRB099 10568 JLK 30795 b
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

HB3495 - 2 - LRB099 10568 JLK 30795 b
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

HB3495 - 3 - LRB099 10568 JLK 30795 b
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.