California bill would require restaurants to disclose food allergens on menus

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Braxton Kimura dreads eating at restaurants. The California teenager is severely allergic to peanuts, shellfish and most tree nuts. Consuming even a tiny amount could send him to the emergency room.

“Eating out is definitely really dangerous. It’s something that I try to avoid,” Kimura, 17, said at his home in San Jose. “When dining out, obviously I always bring my EpiPens, and I’m really nervous all the time.”

Restaurant dining in California could soon become a little less stressful for Braxton and the growing number of Americans with severe food allergies.

State lawmakers are set to vote on legislation that would make California the first U.S. state to require restaurants to disclose whether a menu item contains any of the nine most common food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, sesame and soybeans.

Restaurants could post the allergen information on physical menus, an allergen chart, allergen-specific menu or other printed materials. They can also post a QR code to access a digital menu that lists allergens. Food trucks and carts wouldn't be required to make changes.

In September, the Legislature is expected to vote on Senate Bill 68, known as the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act (ADDE). If approved and signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, the new law would take effect on July 1, 2026.

“It’s really to protect the millions of people in California who have allergies like me,” said Democratic state Sen. Caroline Menjivar of the San Fernando Valley, who introduced the bill earlier this year.

Menjivar, who is severely allergic to most nuts and fruits, said she’s had to go to the hospital multiple times for anaphylaxis — a life-threatening allergic reaction — to something she accidentally consumed.

The Southern California lawmaker got the idea for the legislation last year while traveling in Europe, which has required restaurants to disclose food allergens since 2014.

Soon after Menjivar returned to the U.S., she was approached about sponsoring legislation by parents whose daughter has severe allergies.

Since then 9-year-old Addie Lao has become the bill’s most visible advocate, appearing in social media videos, news interviews and legislative hearings.

“I want to be able to eat out with my friends and family like everyone else,” the third grader told state senators in Sacramento in April. “I have to avoid the foods I’m allergic to since it’s like poison to my body and can harm me.”

The bill has the backing of numerous groups representing medical practitioners and people who suffer from asthma and allergies.

But the California Restaurant Association opposes the legislation. The group says the law would increase costs and burdens on restaurants that are already struggling with rising food prices, tariffs, labor shortages and cost-conscious consumers.

The restaurant industry wants more flexibility in how allergen information is posted as well as more liability protections.

“You get into a situation where the menu becomes unwieldy and it becomes incredibly impractical and expensive to be constantly converting menus out with each ingredient shift that may occur and the need to do a new allergy notification,” said Matthew Sutton, senior vice president at the California Restaurant Association.

Some restaurant chains — such as Chipotle Mexican Grill, Red Robin Gourmet Burgers and Olive Garden — already post allergen information on their menus.

Brian Hom, who owns two Vitality Bowl restaurants in San Jose, is one of the bill's biggest backers. His oldest son died on his 18th birthday in 2008 after he accidentally ate peanuts at a resort in Mexico.

This legislation “is going to save lives," Hom said. "I don’t want to see anybody suffer what my wife and I are suffering.”

An estimated 33 million Americans, including nearly 4 million in California, have at least one food allergy, according to the nonprofit Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE). And the numbers are rising.

Among them is Kimura, who was diagnosed with food allergies at 14 months old when he was rushed to the hospital in anaphylactic shock after eating a peanut off the floor.

“I always have to be cautious,” Kimura said.

Kimura, a high school senior and basketball player, launched an initiative called Beyond the Shell, which produced a documentary called “The Last Bite” that shows what it’s like to live with life-threatening allergies.

Even if SB 68 becomes law, Kimura says he'd still need to talk to restaurant staff to make sure dishes are allergen-free and there's no cross-contamination, but allergen labels would reduce the stress of eating in restaurants.

“It would kind of give me more of a peace of mind and would overall just create a better environment and more awareness around food allergies as a whole,” Kimura said. “It’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

Braxton Kimura prepares food at home on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Braxton Kimura, right, orders food with his mother Carol Kimura at Vitality Bowl on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Braxton Kimura shows his EpiPens at home on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Braxton Kimura watches a food allergy documentary on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

Braxton Kimura eats at Vitality Bowl on Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Terry Chea)

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea have seized another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration says has ties to Venezuela, part of a broader U.S. effort to take control of the South American country’s oil.

The U.S. Coast Guard boarded the tanker, named Veronica, early Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on social media. The ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of President Donald Trump’s "established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean,” she said.

U.S. Southern Command said Marines and sailors launched from the aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford to take part in the operation alongside a Coast Guard tactical team, which Noem said conducted the boarding as in previous raids. The military said the ship was seized “without incident.”

Several U.S. government social media accounts posted brief videos that appeared to show various parts of the ship’s capture. Black-and-white footage showed at least four helicopters approaching the ship before hovering over the deck while armed troops dropped down by rope. At least nine people could be seen on the deck of the ship.

The Veronica is the sixth sanctioned tanker seized by U.S. forces as part of the effort by Trump’s administration to control the production, refining and global distribution of Venezuela’s oil products and the fourth since the U.S. ouster of Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro in a surprise nighttime raid almost two weeks ago.

The Veronica last transmitted its location on Jan. 3 as being at anchor off the coast of Aruba, just north of Venezuela’s main oil terminal. According to the data it transmitted at the time, the ship was partially filled with crude.

Days later, the Veronica became one of at least 16 tankers that left the Venezuelan coast in contravention of the quarantine that U.S. forces have set up to block sanctioned ships, according to Samir Madani, the co-founder of TankerTrackers.com. He said his organization used satellite imagery and surface-level photos to document the ship movements.

The ship is currently listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that moves cargoes of oil in violation of U.S. sanctions.

According to its registration data, the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, owned and managed by a company in Russia. In addition, a tanker with the same registration number previously sailed under the name Pegas and was sanctioned by the Treasury Department for being associated with a Russian company moving cargoes of illicit oil.

As with prior posts about such raids, Noem and the military framed the seizure as part of an effort to enforce the law. Noem argued that the multiple captures show that “there is no outrunning or escaping American justice.”

Speaking to reporters at the White House later Thursday, Noem declined to say how many sanctioned oil tankers the U.S. is tracking or whether the government is keeping tabs on freighters beyond the Caribbean Sea.

“I can’t speak to the specifics of the operation, although we are watching the entire shadow fleet and how they’re moving,” she told reporters.

But other officials in Trump's Republican administration have made clear they see the actions as a way to generate cash as they seek to rebuild Venezuela’s battered oil industry and restore its economy.

Trump met with executives from oil companies last week to discuss his goal of investing $100 billion in Venezuela to repair and upgrade its oil production and distribution. His administration has said it expects to sell at least 30 million to 50 million barrels of sanctioned Venezuelan oil.

Associated Press writer Ben Finley contributed to this report.

This story has been corrected to show the Veronica is the fourth, not the third, tanker seized by U.S. forces since Maduro’s capture and the ship also has been known as the Gallileo, not the Galileo.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks with reporters at the White House, Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks during a press conference, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem speaks at a news conference at Harry Reid International Airport, Nov. 22, 2025, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ronda Churchill, File)