Bill Text: NJ A4826 | 2026-2027 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires food service businesses to provide written notice of major food allergens in each menu item.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 11)
Status: (Introduced) 2026-05-04 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Consumer Affairs Committee [A4826 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2026-A4826-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman MARGIE DONLON, M.D.
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman CODY D. MILLER
District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Morales, Peterpaul, Assemblymen Karabinchak and Venezia
SYNOPSIS
Requires food service businesses to provide written notice of major food allergens in each menu item.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning food service businesses and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Food service business" means a business that sells or provides food for consumption on or off the premises and includes, but is not limited to, any restaurant, caf�, delicatessen, coffee shop, convenience store, grocery store, vending truck or cart, food truck, movie theater, or business or institutional cafeteria, including those operated by or on behalf of any governmental entity.
"Major food allergen" means the same as that term is defined by subsection (qq) of 21 U.S.C. s.321.
"Menu" means a printed list of the names or images of a food or beverage item or items and the primary writing or similar signage from which a customer makes an order selection. Menus shall include breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus; dessert menus; beverage menus; children's menus; other specialty menus; electronic menus; and menus on the Internet, and may be in various forms, including booklets, pamphlets, single sheets of paper, or electronic screens. Menus shall also include menu boards inside a food service business, as well as drive-through menu boards outside the food service business.
"Quick reference code" means a two-dimensional matrix bar code that, when photographed or scanned by a mobile electronic communication device such as a cellular telephone, wireless tablet, or other wireless communication device, may be used by a customer to retrieve information from the Internet.
"Temporary menu item" means an item that appears on a menu or menu board for less than a total of 30 days per calendar year. The 30-day-total shall include all consecutive and non-consecutive days on which the item appears on the menu.
2. a. Any food service business organized under the laws of this State shall provide clear and conspicuous written notice of major food allergens that the food service business knows or reasonably should know are contained as ingredients in each menu item, including temporary menu items. The food service business shall provide this information:
(1) directly on the food service business's menu;
(2) in a digital format including, but not limited to, a quick response code, provided that the code directs customers to an Internet website that contains the information required pursuant to this act; or
(3) on other written materials including, but not limited to, a separate menu, chart, grid, or booklet.
If a food service business provides major food allergen information directly on its menu pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subsection, the menu item shall be followed by a written statement that is adjacent or in close proximity to the applicable menu item using a font and format that is at least as prominent, in size and appearance, as that used to post either the name or price of the menu item, indicating any major food allergen contained in the menu item.
(1) common or usual names of the major food allergens; or
(2) standardized icons or symbols approved by the Commissioner of Health to communicate the presence of major food allergens.
c. This act shall not apply to prepackaged foods that are subject to federal labeling requirements for major food allergens pursuant to 21 U.S.C. s.343.
d. The Department of Health or the local board of health or the board, body, or officers exercising the functions of the local board of health according to law, upon written complaint or having reason to suspect that a violation of this act has occurred, shall, by written notification, advise the food service business accordingly and order appropriate action to be taken.
e. The Commissioner of Health shall adopt rules and regulations pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to carry out the purposes of this act.
3. This act shall take effect on the first day of the 13th month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Health may take such anticipated action in advance as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires food service businesses to provide written notification of major food allergens in each menu item.
A major food allergen, as defined under the "Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act," includes foods or food groups such as milk, egg, fish (e.g., bass, flounder, or cod), crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, or shrimp), tree nuts (e.g., almonds, pecans, or walnuts), wheat, peanuts, soybeans, and sesame.
Under the bill, any food service business organized under the laws of this State is required to provide written notice of major food allergens that it knows or reasonably should know are present in the ingredients of each menu item, including temporary menu items. Food service businesses are required to provide this information: (1) directly on the food service business's menu; (2) in a digital format, including a quick response code, provided that the code directs customers to an Internet website that contains the information required under the bill; or (3) on other written materials including a separate menu, chart, grid, or booklet.
A food service business that is required to provide major food allergen information under the provisions of this bill is required to, when providing the information, use: (1) common or usual names of the major food allergens; or (2) standardized icons or symbols approved by the Commissioner of Health to communicate the presence of major food allergens.
The Department of Health, or the local board of health or the board, body, or officers exercising the functions of the local board of health according to law, upon written complaint or having reason to suspect that a violation has occurred is to, by written notification, advise the food service business accordingly and order appropriate action to be taken.
