For people with severe, potentially life-threatening food allergies, it's a question they must face everywhere they eat: is there a potentially fatal ingredient lurking on my plate?

One New Jersey town, however, is seeking to help alleviate that concern with a proposed ordinance that some officials believe would be among the "strictest and most impactful" food allergy laws in both New Jersey and the country.

The ordinance, introduced recently by Edison Township Councilman Sam Joshi, would likely cause a significant overhaul in the township's eatery industry, requiring more than 630 establishments in the town and nearly 400 catering companies outside the town to rework their menus and label all allergens for every dish and beverage they serve.

Currently, there are no statewide laws on the books in New Jersey requiring restaurants and catering companies to label allergens in the food and beverages they serve.

Five states -- Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Rhode Island and Virginia -- currently have some of the strictest food allergy laws in the country, with similar measures that are now being proposed in Edison, according to Food Allergy Research and Education.

Under the proposed ordinance, "allergy friendly" menus would have to note which items contain the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's eight most common allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans -- along with MSG and sulfites.

Bars will also have to label allergens that are in each dish and beverage.

Joshi said that data has shown that allergic reactions most often occur from miscommunications with food served at restaurants, banquet halls, schools and other establishments.

"Food allergies have increased so dramatically in the last decade that a lot of owners or servers don't have a clear policy on food allergies, but they need to," Joshi said.

For catering companies located outside the township but who come to Edison for events will also be required to label their foods and beverages, Joshi said.

Joshi said that it is unacceptable for a server to plead ignorance to what could become a deadly mistake.

While food allergies are nothing new, they are on the rise. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), food allergies in children in the U.S. have risen by 50 percent between 1997 and 2011.

From 2010 to 2016, more than 4.5 million children 18 and under throughout the U.S. had to go to the emergency room for food allergies, mostly from peanuts, tree nuts and seeds, according to a report this year by Blue Cross Blue Shield.

Joshi said he hopes that the ordinance will become a standard for other towns to adopt throughout the state to protect those susceptible to certain allergens.

The ordinance will go before the township's seven-member council on Aug. 22. If passed, the ordinance would become effective on Oct. 1 for handout menus. Larger display menus, like those placard on a wall, will have to be changed by Feb. 1.

Spencer Kent may be reached at skent@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SpencerMKent. Find the Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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