SB-68 Is in Effect: What California Restaurants Need to Do Now

What is SB-68?

SB-68 is a California law that requires restaurants and food facilities to clearly identify which of the 9 major food allergens are present in each menu item. The law applies to any food facility that provides a menu — dine-in, takeout, food trucks, cafeterias, and catering operations.

The goal is simple: give customers with food allergies the information they need to eat safely, without having to ask a server to check with the kitchen for every item they consider ordering.

The 9 Major FDA Allergens

These are the allergens you must disclose under SB-68:

Milk — includes butter, cream, cheese, whey, casein
Eggs — includes mayonnaise, some pasta, baked goods
Fish — such as bass, cod, flounder (species must be identified)
Shellfish — shrimp, crab, lobster, oysters
Tree Nuts — almonds, walnuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios
Peanuts — separate from tree nuts under FDA classification
Wheat — includes flour, breadcrumbs, most pasta
Soybeans — soy sauce, tofu, edamame, many processed foods
Sesame — seeds, tahini, sesame oil (added as the 9th allergen in 2023)

Who Does SB-68 Apply To?

Any California food facility that uses a menu. This includes:

Dine-in restaurants (full-service and fast-casual)
Takeout and delivery-only kitchens
Food trucks and mobile vendors
Cafeterias (corporate, hospital, school)
Catering operations
Bakeries and coffee shops with food menus

If you serve food in California and have a menu of any kind — printed, posted on a wall, or digital — SB-68 applies to you.

What Does Compliance Look Like?

The law requires that allergen information be clearly visible to customers before they order. Common approaches include:

Allergen icons or codes next to each menu item
A separate allergen chart referenced by item number
A digital menu with allergen filters
A QR code linking to a detailed allergen disclosure page

The disclosure must be specific to each item — a general "our kitchen uses tree nuts" statement is not sufficient. Each menu item needs its own allergen identification.

The Challenge for Small Restaurants

For a 50-item menu, identifying allergens in every dish means reviewing every recipe, checking every ingredient, and accounting for sauces, marinades, and cross-contamination. Hiring a food safety consultant for this work can cost $500–$2,000+.

Many small restaurant owners know their recipes but don't have the time to formally document allergens for every item, format it into a compliant disclosure, and keep it updated when the menu changes.

How MenuComply Helps

MenuComply was built specifically for SB-68 compliance. The process takes minutes:

Upload your menu — PDF, photo, or paste a URL. Our system extracts every item automatically.
Review AI suggestions — AI analyzes each item and flags which of the 9 allergens likely apply. You confirm, correct, or add to each suggestion.
Publish — Get a digital allergen disclosure page, a printable chart, and a QR code you can place on your physical menu or at the register.

The AI does the heavy lifting of initial identification. You — the person who knows your recipes — verify everything. The result is a compliant disclosure you can publish immediately.

Free to start. No credit card required.

What Happens If You Don't Comply?

SB-68 is enforced through routine health inspections. Non-compliance can result in citations during inspections and potential fines. More importantly, an allergen incident at your restaurant — where a customer has a reaction because they weren't informed — carries significant liability exposure.

Compliance isn't just about avoiding fines. It's about protecting your customers and your business.

Get Started Today

SB-68 is already in effect. If your menu doesn't currently disclose allergens per item, you're out of compliance today.