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Restaurant group opposes HB 364, warns sodium/allergen menu warnings could mislead customers
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Summary
Lisonbee DeRoberts of the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance opposed HB 364 in committee testimony, arguing the bill's sodium and allergy labeling would create confusing, verbose warnings, could instill a false sense of security for patrons with allergies, and would impose compliance costs on restaurants.
Lisonbee DeRoberts, representing the Ohio Restaurant and Hospitality Alliance, appeared before the House Agriculture Committee to provide opponent testimony on House Bill 364. DeRoberts said the bill's required sodium warnings and expanded allergen notations would be verbose, could create a false sense of security for customers with allergies and would force many operators to remake menus with crowded, hard‑to‑read fonts.
DeRoberts explained that Ohio Department of Health rules already require a trained "person in charge" on each shift who receives allergen‑awareness education and that federal law requires chains to provide nutrition information, including sodium, when requested. She illustrated cross‑contamination risk in dynamic kitchen environments — for example, a peanut ice‑cream sundae prepared near a fish sandwich — to explain why static menu labels alone might not fully protect patrons with food allergies.
Committee members asked DeRoberts to explain how a false sense of security could lead to harm; she reiterated the risk of cross‑contact and said the Alliance would be willing to work with policymakers on targeted consumer‑education approaches rather than the current bill language.
After the testimony and questions, the committee completed the third hearing on HB 364 with no votes recorded.
