CT kids hospitalized after eating in restaurants urge passage of food allergens bill

A bill passed in the state House this week would mandate that restaurants train employees in food allergen awareness, and to provide ingredient lists upon request to customers, to protect diners with food allergies.

HB 5902 also would require the state Department of Public Health to develop guidelines on restaurant training. HB 5902 is now on the state Senate calendar.

The DPH commissioner and the CEO of the Connecticut Restaurant Association oppose the bill, arguing that recently implemented health regulations already deal effectively with allergens.

“The CRA believes the current DPH regulations are sufficient and will continue to help ensure public safety while also educating restaurant employees on the dangers of food allergies,” Scott Dolch, CEO of CRA, testified during committee hearings in February.

DPH Commissioner Manisha Juthani testified “Effective February 16th, 2023, DPH implemented new food safety regulations, in compliance with the United States Food and Drug Administration Food Code. This bill duplicates food allergy requirements for retail food establishments detailed in these regulations.”

But supporters of the bill, including youths with severe food allergies, say that the existing law isn’t enough. Three young people testified that they’d feel less scared eating at a restaurant if an additional law was in place.

Robert Vine, a high school student in Greenwich, testified he had an anaphylactic reaction that caused his throat to bleed for two days, after a waiter did not inform him that his dessert had a raw egg in it. Earlier in the meal, he told the waiter he was allergic to raw eggs.

“Many restaurant workers, despite their best intentions, lack critical education in food allergies to the point that they think that they are dietary preferences as opposed to life-threatening conditions,” Vine testified. “Had this otherwise wonderful waiter received the basic 20 minutes of training this bill is proposing, this never would have happened.”

Maia Coplit said the bill would force restaurants to examine not only their own food creations, but food brought in from other sources, such as bread. The Greenwich high school student is allergic to nuts and sesame.

“There have been multiple times in the past where I’ve trusted a restaurant because of how much they assured me or because they seemed experienced, only to end up in the emergency room,” Coplit testified. “I’ve spent hours on end in the dead of night sitting in the ER because of the fact so many people are unaware of this serious issue.”

Alexander Darmofal, age 12, said he has been advocating for such a bill since he was 6 years old. Darmofal’s parents, Jason and Vanessa Darmofal, testified on his behalf in favor of a similar bill, HB5158 in 2018. That bill did not pass.

Alexander Darmofal, who is allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, said his family goes to only a few restaurants whose employees they trust.

“Kids who don’t have many allergies but have some can only eat at a few restaurants. Other people with lots of allergies can’t eat out at all,” he testified. “It makes things uncomfortable when out at a restaurant and the waiter or waitress thinks you are speaking another language when you tell them about your allergies.”

Vine said when his family traveled to Ireland, the training mandated by European Union law made eating out easier.

“Each waiter was trained to ask for our allergies as soon as we sat down. Each menu item was labeled with the allergens it contained,” he testified. “Suddenly, virtually all the discomfort of eating out went away. I knew which foods were safe for me and which weren’t, and was incredibly reassured by the attentiveness of waiters towards this issue.”

The bill was sponsored by Sens. Matthew L. Lesser and Saud Anwar, and Reps. Robin E. Comey, Stephen R Meskers, David Michel, Eleni Kavros DeGraw, Dorinda Borer, Gary A. Turco, Patricia A. Dillon and Christopher Poulos.

Comey, who has sponsored similar bills in the past, has a son with food allergies.

“It’s one of the reasons why I became interested in and passionate about policy work, because I know that good policy has the potential to be life-saving,” Comey said.

It passed out of the Public Health Committee by a 25-12 vote and out of the House by a 98-53 vote.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.