Bill Text: NY A01027 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Relates to allergy awareness and training in restaurants; requires allergen awareness training; certification within thirty days after hire date.
Spectrum: Moderate Partisan Bill (Democrat 15-3)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-17 - print number 1027b [A01027 Detail]
Download: New_York-2019-A01027-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 1027--B 2019-2020 Regular Sessions IN ASSEMBLY January 14, 2019 ___________ Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL, STECK, ARROYO, D'URSO, STERN, BRABENEC, MAGNARELLI, BARRON, REYES -- Multi-Sponsored by -- M. of A. EPSTEIN -- read once and referred to the Committee on Health -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee -- recommitted to the Committee on Health in accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the public health law, in relation to allergy awareness and training in restaurants The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The public health law is amended by adding a new section 2 1352-f to read as follows: 3 § 1352-f. Allergy awareness and training in restaurants. 1. Defi- 4 nitions. (a) "Major food allergen" shall mean (i) milk, eggs, fish (such 5 as bass, flounder, or cod); crustaceans (such as crab, lobster, or 6 shrimp); tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, pecans, pistachios, or 7 walnuts), wheat, peanuts, sesame, and soybeans; and (ii) a food ingredi- 8 ent that contains protein derived from a food named in subparagraph (i) 9 of this paragraph. This does not include: (1) any highly refined oil 10 derived from a food specified in subparagraph (i) of this paragraph or 11 any ingredient derived from such highly refined oil; or (2) any ingredi- 12 ent that is exempt under the petition or notification process specified 13 in the federal food allergen labeling and consumer protection act of 14 2004. 15 (b) "Menu" shall mean a printed or pictorial display of a food item or 16 items and their price or prices that are available for sale from a food 17 establishment. This includes menus distributed or provided outside the 18 establishment and promotional items that include menu information from 19 which a customer can place an order. EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD00523-06-0A. 1027--B 2 1 (c) "Menu board" shall mean any list or pictorial display of a food 2 item or items and their price or prices posted within or outside a food 3 establishment. 4 (d) "Approved training provider" shall mean a training provider that 5 has been approved by the director to provide training and assessment of 6 allergen awareness for food service managers. 7 (e) "Food safety manager" shall mean a managerial employee designated 8 by his or her employer to complete allergen awareness training and to 9 obtain a certificate of allergen awareness training pursuant to the 10 requirements of this section. 11 2. General requirements. (a) All food safety managers hired by a food 12 service establishment that cooks, prepares, or serves food intended for 13 immediate consumption either on or off the premises shall complete 14 allergen awareness training and pass an assessment from an approved 15 training provider to obtain a certificate of allergen awareness training 16 prior to or within thirty days after his or her hire date. 17 (b) Such food establishments shall include on all printed menus and 18 menu boards a clear and conspicuous notice requesting a customer notify 19 the server, before placing an order, about the customer's allergy to a 20 major food allergen. The notice shall state: "Before placing your order, 21 please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy." 22 (c) The notice must be included on printed menus and on indoor and 23 outdoor menu boards, including drive-through menu boards. 24 (d) All notices on menu boards must be easily readable from the point 25 of service at which food is ordered. On the menu board itself, the font 26 size of the notice must be equal to or greater than the font size of the 27 smallest menu item listed on the menu board. 28 (e) In lieu of placing the notice directly on the indoor or outdoor 29 menu board itself, the food establishment may post the notice adjacent 30 to the menu or at each point of service where food is ordered. Such 31 notice must be securely posted in a manner so that it may be easily seen 32 and read from a distance of five feet by a person standing at or 33 approaching the point of service, shall directly face the purchaser, and 34 shall not be obstructed from view. 35 3. Food allergen awareness training. (a) Food service establishments 36 shall have on staff managers who have been issued a certificate of 37 allergen awareness training by an approved training provider as quali- 38 fied by the department. The certificate will be valid for five years. 39 (b) An approved training provider shall: 40 (i) demonstrate knowledge of major food allergens by posting the food 41 allergen awareness training certificate issued by an approved training 42 provider; 43 (ii) ensure that designated food safety managers are properly trained 44 in food allergy awareness as it is related to their assigned duties; and 45 (iii) ensure that at least one food safety manager with a certificate 46 of allergen awareness training is on site during all hours of operation. 47 4. Certificate renewal. (a) Certificates of allergen awareness train- 48 ing shall be renewed every five years by completing an allergen aware- 49 ness training course, as qualified by the department. 50 (b) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations to estab- 51 lish a qualifying program to designate approved training providers. 52 5. Food allergy aware designation. (a) The commissioner shall develop 53 a program for restaurants to be designated as "food allergy aware" and 54 shall maintain a listing of restaurants receiving such designation on 55 its website. Participation in the program shall be voluntary and the 56 department shall, in consultation with the New York state restaurantA. 1027--B 3 1 association, issue guidelines and requirements for restaurants to 2 receive such designation, provided that such requirements shall include, 3 but not be limited to, maintaining on the premises, and making available 4 to the public, a master list of all the ingredients used in the prepara- 5 tion of each food item available for consumption. 6 (b) No earlier than twelve months and no later than twenty-four months 7 after the effective date of this section, the commissioner, in consulta- 8 tion with the New York state restaurant association, shall submit a 9 report to the clerks of the assembly and the senate, which shall include 10 analysis of the impact of this section. The report shall include, but 11 not be limited to, compliance of restaurants with this section, and 12 proposed changes to this section consistent with the public health and 13 welfare. 14 6. Exemptions. Food service establishments having twenty or more 15 locations and that otherwise require staff to complete a nationally 16 recognized food safety training program with an allergen awareness 17 component which meets the standards of the allergen awareness training 18 required by this section shall be exempted from the provisions of this 19 section. 20 § 2. This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall 21 have become a law; provided that the commissioner of health is author- 22 ized to promulgate any and all rules and regulations and take any other 23 measures necessary to implement this act on its effective date, on or 24 before such date.