California Chain Restaurants Must Now Disclose Major Food Allergens

California's new restaurant allergen disclosure law is now in effect, creating a statewide menu requirement for many chain restaurants that serve Pleasanton diners.

Senate Bill 68, signed into law in 2025, took effect July 1, 2026. The law applies to food facilities covered by federal menu-labeling rules, which generally means restaurant chains with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering substantially the same menu items. It does not apply to every neighborhood restaurant, food truck, pop-up or temporary food facility.

For Pleasanton families, the practical change may show up at larger chain restaurants in the city and around the Tri-Valley: menus, menu boards, kiosks, apps or QR-code menus may now identify whether standard menu items contain major food allergens.

What restaurants must disclose

SB 68 requires covered food facilities to provide written notification of major food allergens that the business knows, or reasonably should know, are contained as ingredients in each menu item. The disclosure can appear directly on the menu, immediately below or next to an item, or in a digital format.

If a restaurant uses a digital format, such as a QR code, the law also requires an alternative written method for customers who cannot access the digital version. The bill lists examples including an allergen-specific menu, chart, grid, booklet or other written materials.

The law allows restaurants to use either common allergen names or standardized pictograms. The major allergens listed in California law are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, soybeans and sesame. Ingredients containing proteins derived from those foods are also included, with exceptions for highly refined oils and certain federally exempted ingredients.

The requirement does not apply to prepackaged foods already subject to federal allergen labeling rules. The bill also says it does not change any other duty a food facility may have under existing law to reasonably ensure patron safety.

What it does not mean

The new requirement is not a guarantee that a menu item is free from cross-contact in a kitchen. It is a written disclosure rule for major allergens that are known, or reasonably should be known, to be ingredients in standard menu items.

That distinction matters for people with severe allergies. Diners who need strict avoidance should still tell restaurant staff about the allergy, ask about preparation practices and decide whether the restaurant can safely serve them.

Why California made the change

Food-allergy advocates supported the law as a way to make restaurant ordering more transparent. The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America, which co-sponsored the bill, said the disclosure requirement can help people with food allergies make safer choices when eating out and noted that the law covers chain restaurants with 20 or more locations.

Restaurant operators, meanwhile, have been preparing for a compliance task that reaches across printed menus, digital menus, apps, kiosks and online ordering platforms. The California Restaurant Association's SB 68 guidance tells covered operators to disclose allergen information for standard menu items and to provide a written alternative when digital disclosure is used.

Local impact

In Pleasanton, the law is most relevant to larger chains and franchise brands, not independent restaurants that fall outside the federal menu-labeling category. But the consumer effect may be broader: diners may become more accustomed to seeing allergen information before they order, and smaller restaurants may face more questions from customers even if they are not covered by SB 68.

Local environmental health agencies primarily enforce the California Retail Food Code, while the California Department of Public Health provides technical support and guidance. That means compliance questions for a specific restaurant may involve local county health enforcement, not only state officials.

For diners, the immediate takeaway is simple: at covered California chain restaurants, major allergen information should now be available in writing. For restaurant operators, the key question is whether the business is part of a covered chain and whether every customer ordering channel provides the required allergen information.

Sources

leginfo.legislature.ca.gov (official California SB 68 chaptered bill text)

cdph.ca.gov (California Department of Public Health retail food program and enforcement context)

cdph.ca.gov (CDPH retail menu labeling requirements background)

calrest.org (California Restaurant Association SB 68 compliance guidance)

aafa.org (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America statement on SB 68)