Pa. House committee advances bill requiring food allergy warnings

Yahoo

29-01-2025

A Pennsylvania House committee advanced a bill that would require restaurants and other establishments to post warnings about the dangers of food allergies.
According to a co-sponsorship memo, more than 33 million Americans have food allergies, leading to 200 deaths per year. Nearly half of the fatal food allergy reactions over a 13-year period show that this was caused by food from a restaurant or other food service establishments.
House Bill 77, sponsored by state Reps. Arvind Venkat (D-Allegheny) and Natalie Mihalek (R-Allegheny), aims to protect those with food allergies dining in Pennsylvania.
'The bill requires that food establishments, food resale establishments, have posters in their serving areas about the dangers of food allergies, and also have warnings on their menus or in other printed materials so that people can convey that information as part of the food retail process,' Venkat said Tuesday.
Venkat, a physician, described food allergies as an epidemic in society and said he's treated more than his fair share of those patients. He mentioned that a family from his district had a child who died after an accidental exposure to an allergen via cross contamination from a restaurant.
'It's a simple change, but it could have a big impact,' Mihalek said. 'And just like so many other issues, Pennsylvania is sort of behind the eight ball on this.'
Texas, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts are among the states that have already enacted similar legislation, according to the co-sponsorship memo. The bill passed the House during the previous session in March by a 148-53 vote, but did not advance in the state Senate.
'This is happening in a lot of other states where we're just requiring those servers and managers at the restaurants to be a little more educated, a little more aware, and a little more communicative with their patrons at their establishments,' Mihalek said.
The legislation was approved by the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee by a 20-6 vote on Tuesday, with every Democrat voting to support the legislation, while Republicans were split 6-6.
State Rep. Stephanie Borowicz (R-Clinton), who voted against the legislation, said she cares about people with food allergies, but added that many restaurants are already providing these materials and is concerned about the Department of Agriculture getting involved.
'I was at Subway the other day. They already have this on their display. You could [use]…a QR code, and get the allergy information,' Borowicz said.
'The last thing I want to do is make restaurants subject to the Department of Ag, having to comply, and then turn it in, make sure it's appropriate, make sure that they accept it and then turn it back in,' she added. 'It's just another level of government for the restaurants to have to deal with.'
State Rep. Joe Hamm (R-Lycoming) also voted against the legislation. He agreed it was a topic that should be treated seriously, but said small business owners 'are under attack' with regulations and red tape.
Hamm also worried the bill could open up small businesses to litigation if there are any mistakes from the posters. Venkat responded that the legislation would protect small business owners from litigation as long as they follow the protocol of listing the menu disclaimers, educational posters, and food safety training.
The committee also advanced legislation that would allow anyone who is legally working in the U.S. to become a 'certified poultry technician' upon completion of the state Department of Agriculture course. The bill by state Rep. Johanny Cepeda-Freytiz, a Democrat from Berks County, moved out of the committee on a 20-6 vote with all Democrats voting in the affirmative and Republicans being evenly split 6-6.
Cepeda-Freytiz said the state poultry industry has 'required significantly more certified poultry technicians than ever before as they work to protect their flocks from highly pathogenic avian influenza.'
She added that large poultry companies have flagged several cases in which employees were unable to be licensed as poultry technicians because they are not citizens.
The legislation passed in the previous session in July by a 166-36 vote, but was not approved by the state Senate.
Per a co-sponsorship memo, certified poultry technicians, who collect poultry samples for testing, are 'key to preventing the spread' of High-Path Avian Influenza and that 'many individuals who work in Pennsylvania's poultry operations are not U.S. citizens,' despite being able to legally work on farms in the United States.
Borowicz said she didn't like that the legislation would allow noncitizens to obtain the certification and had concerns about the secretary of agriculture's authority to issue quarantine orders on avian influenza.
She argued to state Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski (D-Luzerne), chair of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee, that the bill is government overreach, drawing a parallel to how the state responded to the coronavirus pandemic.
'We're on a precipice of something that could be a national emergency,' Pashinski said, to which Borowicz responded 'right, just like COVID.'
Pashinski said Pennsylvania Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding is 'highly qualified and has demonstrated his ability to manage the ag industry in Pennsylvania.'