Venkat and Mihalek food allergy safety bill passes House

Rep. Arvind Venkat February 5, 2025

HARRISBURG, Feb. 5 – State Reps. Arvind Venkat and Natalie Mihalek’s legislation that would promote food allergy safety in multiple ways passed the Pennsylvania House today.

House Bill 77 would mandate that menus in restaurants and food establishments contain a disclaimer regarding food allergies and that there are posters to make servers aware of food allergies present in food preparation and staff areas.

“This bill would put in place commonsense food safety practices focused on preventing food allergy exposures and, most importantly, saving as many lives as possible,” said Venkat, D-Allegheny. “Thank you to Rep. Mihalek for her partnership on this legislation and to my fellow House members for putting the lives of Pennsylvanians first with your affirmative votes.”

“Food safety continues to be an important topic, and for good reason, as our citizens deserve to have confidence that the food they are eating doesn’t pose a threat. This bill is just one important step in providing that confidence,” added Mihalek, R-Allegheny. “Rep. Venkat has been a strong advocate on this issue, and it was an honor to work with him.”

More than 33 million Americans have food allergies, and it is estimated that food allergies lead to 200 deaths per year. Over a 13-year period, nearly half of fatal food allergy reactions were caused by accidental food allergen exposure at a restaurant or other food service establishment.

The bill now moves to the state Senate for consideration.

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