🔍 Quick Answer: What is SB 68?
SB 68 is a California law requiring restaurant chains with 20 or more locations to disclose the 9 major allergens on menus.
The law takes effect on July 1, 2026 and requires allergen information to be clearly available at the point of order, in both digital and non-digital formats.
In this guide
- What SB 68 is
- Who the California allergen law applies to
- What restaurants must do
- Real operational challenges
- How to comply
What is SB 68 (California allergen law)?
SB 68, also known as the Allergen Disclosure for Dining Experiences Act (ADDE), is a California law requiring restaurant chains to provide written allergen information for menu items.
It is also referred to as:
- the California allergen law
- SB 68 restaurant law
- allergen disclosure law for restaurants
The goal of the law is simple:
Help customers make safer, informed choices when ordering food
When does SB 68 take effect?
SB 68 comes into effect on:
July 1, 2026
From this date, qualifying businesses must ensure allergen information is:
- accurate
- visible
- consistently available
Who does the California allergen law apply to?
The law applies to food businesses that:
- Operate 20 or more locations nationwide, and
- Offer substantially the same menu items across locations
This aligns with existing federal menu labelling regulations, meaning businesses already required to manage calorie labelling centrally are expected to manage allergen information in the same way.
This typically includes:
- Restaurant chains
- Franchise groups
- Contract caterers with multiple sites
- Hospitality groups with standardised menus
It does not typically apply to:
- Businesses with fewer than 20 locations
- Food trucks and temporary food facilities
- Pre-packaged foods already labelled under federal law
What does SB 68 require restaurants to do?
Restaurants must:
- Identify the presence of the 9 major allergens in each dish
- Provide allergen information at the point of order
- Ensure allergen data is accurate and up to date
This applies across:
- Printed menus
- Digital menus
- Online ordering platforms
Can allergen information be digital only?
Restaurants can provide allergen information digitally, such as through QR codes or online menus.
However, they must also provide an alternative non-digital format, such as a printed menu or allergen chart, for customers without access to digital devices.
This means allergen information must be:
accessible to all customers — not just those using smartphones
What are the 9 major allergens?
The law requires disclosure of the following:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Fish
- Crustacean shellfish
- Tree nuts
- Peanuts
- Wheat
- Soybeans
- Sesame
These allergens must be clearly identified wherever they are present in a dish, using their common or usual name.
What “known or reasonably expected” means
The law requires disclosure of allergens that are:
“known to be present or reasonably expected to be present”
This means:
- If an allergen appears in a recipe or supplier specification, it must be disclosed
- You do not need lab testing, but you must understand your ingredients
- Verbal staff knowledge alone is not sufficient
In practice, this requires:
- ingredient-level visibility
- recipe standardisation
- supplier data accuracy
Why was the California allergen law introduced?
Food allergies affect millions of Americans and can have serious consequences.
This law aims to:
- improve transparency
- reduce risk for customers
- standardise allergen communication
How SB 68 relates to existing menu labelling laws
SB 68 builds on existing federal menu labelling requirements.
This means:
- Restaurants already required to display calorie information
- Are now expected to also manage allergen information
The key shift is that allergen data is being treated as:
structured, regulated information — not optional guidance
What SB 68 looks like in practice for restaurants
On paper, the law is straightforward.
In practice, it introduces a new layer of operational complexity.
Restaurants must ensure allergen information is:
- consistent across all locations
- accurate across every dish
- updated whenever ingredients change
Where allergen data typically lives today
In most businesses, allergen information is spread across:
- supplier specification sheets
- spreadsheets
- recipe documents
- team knowledge
These systems are disconnected.
Key operational takeaway
Restaurants cannot maintain separate versions of allergen information.
Digital menus, printed menus, allergen charts, and staff references must all match.
The real operational risk
Menus may not change often.But ingredients and suppliers do.
When a supplier changes:
- ingredient formulations
- product specifications
- allergen profiles
Menus can quickly become:
- outdated
- inconsistent
- non-compliant
Example: How allergen information can break
Imagine a sauce used across multiple dishes.
If a supplier changes that sauce to include soy:
- the recipe must be updated
- every menu item using that recipe must be updated
- every location must reflect the change
Without a connected system, this process becomes:
- manual
- time-consuming
- error-prone
What happens if you don’t comply?
The risks include:
- legal exposure
- reputational damage
- customer safety risks
Are “may contain” allergens required?
SB 68 does not require disclosure of potential cross-contamination (such as “may contain” statements).
The law focuses on allergens that are intentionally present in ingredients and recipes.
How to comply with SB 68
SB 68 compliance checklist for restaurants
1. Centralise ingredient data
Create a single source of truth for ingredients and allergens.
2. Standardise recipes
Ensure allergen information is calculated consistently across dishes.
3. Connect recipes to menus
Menus should reflect allergen data automatically.
4. Keep information updated
When ingredients change, allergen data must update everywhere.
5. Ensure multi-site consistency
All locations must display the same accurate allergen information.
Why manual processes don’t scale
Many restaurants rely on:
- spreadsheets
- static documents
- manual updates
This approach becomes difficult at scale and increases the risk of:
- inconsistencies
- human error
- outdated information
How Kafoodle helps you comply with SB 68
365 Kitchen Management powered by Kafoodle is designed to manage allergen compliance across multi-site operations.
It connects:
Ingredients → Recipes → Menus
So allergen information is:
- automatically calculated
- consistent across locations
- always up to date
Key capabilities
- Central ingredient and allergen database
- Automated allergen calculation
- Menu-level allergen display (digital and print)
- Multi-site control and visibility
Trusted for allergen compliance
Kafoodle is already used by food service businesses in the UK to comply with allergen regulations, including Natasha’s Law.
This means the platform is built around:
- structured ingredient data
- recipe-level allergen management
- accurate menu labelling
The same principles apply to SB 68.
SB 68 summary
- Applies to restaurant chains with 20+ locations
- Requires disclosure of 9 major allergens
- Must be shown at the point of order
- Takes effect July 1, 2026
Final thoughts
SB 68 is not just a regulatory change — it’s an operational one.
Restaurants that prepare early will:
- avoid last-minute pressure
- reduce compliance risk
- improve consistency across locations