California’s New Allergen Law, SB 68: What Every Restaurant Needs to Know
Effective July 1, 2026, California restaurants will be required to disclose the nine major food allergens on their menus, a major step toward transparency and guest safety. The new law, Bill 68 (SB 68), builds on the momentum of prior food labeling regulations, marking a turning point for how restaurants communicate ingredient and allergen information.
What SB 68 Requires
SB 68 mandates that restaurants and similar retail food establishments that are part of a chain with 20 or more locations doing business under the same name and offering for sale substantially the same menu items to disclose nutrient content information, must clearly identify the presence of the following nine major allergens from their menu items:
Milk
Eggs
Fish
Crustacean shellfish
Tree nuts
Peanuts
Wheat
Soybeans
Sesame
Restaurants can meet this requirement by:
Listing allergens directly on printed menus, or
Providing allergen information through a digital menu platform, such as a QR-code or website-based menu that’s easily accessible to guests.
This language was included specifically to allow operators flexibility, ensuring that digital solutions can support compliance while minimizing the operational burden of constantly reprinting menus.
Why It Matters:
Beyond compliance, SB 68 represents an evolution in how restaurants engage guests:
33 million Americans live with food allergies.
85 million consumers avoid or limit ingredients due to health or lifestyle preferences.
Guests who can’t access allergen or ingredient data are less likely to order or return.
Transparency doesn’t just build trust it builds business. When restaurants give guests the confidence to order, they unlock hidden revenue. Restaurants that embrace this new level of transparency will be ahead of the curve, building loyalty, reducing liability, and aligning with today’s consumer expectations for menu personalization.
How MenuCalc Can Help:
At MenuCalc, we’ve been helping restaurants analyze and manage recipe data for over 20 years. Our platform already provides the foundation you need to stay compliant with SB 68, and even go beyond compliance to deliver a better guest experience.
With MenuCalc, you can:
✅ Identify and tag allergens across all recipes automatically
✅ Generate compliant menus with allergen icons and ingredient details
✅ Integrate with your SmartMenu or website for QR-based allergen visibility
✅ Keep data centralized and up-to-date, so your menu always reflects the latest ingredient changes
✅ Reduce risk by ensuring staff and guests access consistent, verified allergen data
The ROI of Digital Allergen Transparency:
Data from our partnership with EveryBite, SmartMenu platform shows the financial upside of allergen and nutrition transparency, brands that have already implement a SmartMenu see:
$3.8 million in attempted spend by SmartMenu guests seeking nutrition and allergen info
46% lift in online orders when guests can filter by dietary or allergen needs
24% higher profit margins from upsells and cross-sells enabled by personalization
10–40% increase in average order value (McKinsey) through personalized menu experiences
In other words: the same data you need for SB 68 compliance can also drive incremental revenue when paired with a guest-facing SmartMenu experience.
Stay Compliant and Profitable:
For more than 20 years, MenuCalc has powered the industry’s most trusted recipe and allergen analysis platform. Our tools make compliance easy, and SmartMenu integration makes it profitable.
With MenuCalc, you can:
✅ Identify allergens automatically across recipes
✅ Generate compliant menus (print, PDF, or digital)
✅ Sync data with SmartMenu for real-time allergen visibility and upsell potential
✅ Eliminate manual updates across locations and menus
✅ Reduce liability and build guest trust with consistent data accuracy
From Compliance to Competitive Advantage:
Unlike the older calorie-labeling laws, SB 68 embraces digital solutions. That means operators can use their MenuCalc data to meet requirements and personalize every guest interaction, a win for compliance, marketing, and the bottom line.
SB 68 is more than a regulation; it’s a chance to modernize how you connect with guests.
Get Ahead of the Deadline:
The January 2026 deadline will arrive fast. Restaurants that start preparing now will save time, money, and stress — and unlock new value from their allergen data.
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