EDISON — Come April 2019, local food establishments in the township will be required to provide a single separate menu identifying menu foods containing or prepared with common ingredients that trigger allergies.
After hearing from the public and a lengthy discussion, the Township Council approved at a meeting on Aug. 22 a food allergy ordinance, which will impact more than 1,000 food service operators, including restaurants, hotels, supermarkets, delis and caterers.
Councilman Sam Joshi, who proposed the ordinance, along with Vice Council President Leonard Sendelsky, Councilman Robert Diehl, and Councilman Michael Lombardi voted “yes” and Council President Ajay Patil and Councilman Joseph Coyle voted to “abstain.” Councilman Alvaro Gomez was not present at the vote.
An allergen, according to the ordinance, is defined as any of the eight foods required by the Food and Drug Administration [FDA] to be listed by food manufacturers as common ingredients that trigger food allergens as well as monosodium glutamate (MSG) and commercial sulfites used as a food preservative or additive. The eight foods are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat.
During public comment on the ordinance the council heard from Marylou Halvorsen, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association and township business owners, who expressed concerns over the hastiness of approving the ordinance, which was first introduced in July. They requested the council form a committee and include their input into the ordinance.
The council also heard from parents, who at times became emotional when they spoke about their loved ones with food allergies. One parent shared a story that he lost his 29-year-old daughter from an allergic reaction.
The parents said they favored the ordinance, which would provide an extra level of comfort for their families. They said they feel safe at places like Disney and chain restaurants that already cater to families with food allergies.
“There’s two different sides [of the argument],” Joshi said. “It’s very clear that there’s the business community that feels they were left out [of the process], I understand that, and another part, clearly are the mothers, the fathers, the individuals, who came here who have children with allergies.”
Joshi, who said he spoke to 30 or so business owners, recommended setting up a committee made up of business owners, members of the New Jersey Restaurant and Hospitality Association, people with food allergies, and mothers and fathers with children, who have food allergies.
“The committee would be a transition committee in which we can understand how [the ordinance] will actually be implemented,” he said. “It should be noted, the inspiration [for the ordinance] came from hearing from mothers, fathers, and people who have actually lost their lives [from food allergies]. So I understand the business community feels left out and for that I apologize. But it doesn’t change the fact that another speaker spoke tonight and she said in her 26 years of having a food allergy, nothing has changed in the food industry related to food allergies.”
Joshi said another inspiration for the ordinance came from the European Union [EU], which encompasses 28 countries, in Europe. The EU passed a similar law in 2014.
“Ireland passed their own law that made the law a little more strict,” he said. “[The country’s] demographics are similar to ours.”
Joshi said the ordinance does not require restaurants to change any of their current menus.
“[The ordinance only] asks for one additional menu that would notate only 10 ingredients,” he said. “The reason for the 10 ingredients and why they are the most important is because more than 90 percent of allergic reactions, including fatal ones, only come from these ingredients.”
Joshi provided a sample menu and three examples of disclaimers restaurant owners can put on the additional menu that can be used to protect the business owner from liability.
He and the township attorney said the council does not have the ability to offer advice or tell a restaurant to put the disclaimer on the menu; however, the examples can be brought back to the restaurant’s counsel and insurance broker to see what would be the best fit.
Joshi said it’s important to note researchers estimate up to 15 million Americans have food allergies, including 5.9 million children under age 18. About 30 percent of children with food allergies are allergic to more than one food.
In Edison, in the past two years, he said there have been 146 emergency dispatched ambulances, due to potentially fatal allergic reactions.
Patil and Coyle said they were not against the food allergy ordinance. But they said they would have preferred forming the committee of the stakeholders prior to the vote on the ordinance.
