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A4826
ASSEMBLY, No. 4826
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED MAY 4, 2026
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman� MARGIE DONLON, M.D.
District 11 (Monmouth)
Assemblyman� CODY D. MILLER
District 4 (Atlantic, Camden and Gloucester)
Assemblyman� WILLIAM B. SAMPSON, IV
District 31 (Hudson)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblywomen Morales, Peterpaul, Assemblymen Karabinchak,
Venezia, Assemblywomen Brennan, Simmons, Kane and Carter
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.
���� b.���
A
food service business that is required to provide major food allergen
information pursuant to this act shall, 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.
���� 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 13
th
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.