The Trump White House has been a wellspring of regulatory activity with implications for the food-away-from-home business, but states haven’t been idle, either. Recent days have brought a flurry of state legislative and regulatory proposals that could significantly impact the business on a local level.
In addition, at least one lawsuit arising at the state level could have an impact on food sellers nationwide.
Here’s a roundup of what’s happening.
California eyes allergen disclosure on restaurant menus
A bill moving through the California Senate would require restaurants in the state to flag common allergens in the menu listing of an item, along with such now-standard nutritional data as the calorie count. The measure would make the Golden State the first in the nation to mandate the disclosure.
It also specifies that sesame seeds be included in the list of ingredients warranting mention as a possible food-allergy trigger. That roster would also include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans.
The requirements would take effect July 1, 2026.
Manufacturers of retail packaged goods are already required to disclose the allergen contents of what they sell.
The bill, SB 68, is also known as the Allergen Disclosures for Dining Experiences Act, or ADDE, a reference to Addie Lao, the 9-year-old food-allergy sufferer who’s cited as an inspiration for the bill. Lawmakers say Addie’s mom had a hand in writing the measure.
The legislation is opposed by the California Restaurant Association, the Golden Gate Restaurant Association and a group called Food Allergy Research & Education (FARE). They contend that the disclosure requirement could give allergy sufferers a false sense of security, cross-contamination in a restaurant kitchen could still be a danger. In addition, they warn that the complications and expense of revamping menus would prompt some restaurateurs to merely stop accommodating guests with allergies.
California sues to block Trump’s tariffs
The nation’s largest restaurant market can already claim the distinction of being the first state to challenge the Trump Administration’s aggressive tariffs in court. Gov. Gavin Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a federal lawsuit this week to overturn the 10% “baseline” duties that have already been imposed on virtually all countries except China and prevent the implementation in July of what Trump terms reciprocal tariffs.
The suit alleges that Trump lacks the legal authority to unilaterally impose the tariffs as extraordinary emergency measures. It also contends the import duties are already accelerating inflation and disrupting supply chains, with the cost to the state already totaling billions of dollars.
New York uncorks a plan to permit supermarket wine sales
A state senator has introduced legislation to end New York’s dubious distinction of being one of only 11 states where consumers can’t buy wine in supermarkets. But it’s not as if the bill in its current form would allow grocers to stock the finest vintages from Italy, France or California.
The proposal aired this week by Sen. George Borrello, a Republican, would restrict what’s permitted on the shelves of New York food stores to wines produced within the Empire State.
According to Borrello, the limitation would ensure home-state producers would be the major beneficiaries. Plus, he asserted in announcing the bill, the qualification would temper the pitched resistance from liquor stores that has killed similar proposed market expansions in the past.
More states consider bans on reservation scalping
At least four states are looking to follow New York’s lead in banning third parties from scarfing up restaurant reservations via sophisticated computer programs and then selling the time slots to consumers who were boxed out from securing a table on their own.
Bills that would prohibit what the industry has dubbed reservation scalping are under consideration in Illinois, California, Florida and Louisiana.
Restaurant advocacy groups have been strongly in favor of outlawing the practice. The reservations aggregators often fail to sell all the reservations they control and allow the bookings to lapse, leaving restaurants with unsecured tables and lost revenues
The dining establishments also don’t share in proceeds from the sale of reservations. All of that money, which can run into thousands of dollars per reservation, goes to the third-party seller.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul signed her state's Restaurant Reservation Anti-Piracy Act into law on Dec. 19.
Anti-dye movement spreads to more states
A multi-front effort to rid school lunches of artificial food colorings is finding traction in at least six more states.
Legislative proposals to outlaw the dyes are under consideration in New York, Oklahoma, Vermont, Arizona, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania. The legislation is often modeled after the bans that have already been passed by California, West Virginia and Virginia.
Child-nutrition advocacy groups have been urging lawmakers for years to eliminate the additives from government-funded school-feeding programs. Their efforts have been given new fire by the position of U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who maintains the dyes pose a significant health risk.
To date, his efforts have been limited to praising the actions of anti-dye states rather than calling for a federal ban.
As Managing Editor for IFMA The Food Away from Home Association, Romeo is responsible for generating the group's news and feature content. He brings more than 40 years of experience in covering restaurants to the position.