FOOD ALLERGY BILL PASSED

In an effort to raise awareness of fatal and harmful food allergies, the City Council passed a bill that will require the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to create an educational allergy poster for the city"s food establishments. The bill, sponsored by Council Member Jessica Lappin, will also force restaurants to display the poster in a prominent location that is accessible to employees. Failure to comply could cost restaurants up to $100. The department posters would stress the severity of the “Big Eight food allergies that make up 90 percent of most reactions: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soybeans.