Politics & Government

Local Teen Testifies About Restaurant Food Safety

Danielle Mongeau will ask the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to approve a bill that would make RI restaurants safer for diners with food allergies.

Sen. Lou DiPalma's office submitted the following news:

A Middletown teen was expected to testify at the State House today on behalf of herself and her sister in support of Sen. Louis P. DiPalma’s legislation to make Rhode Island restaurants safer for diners with food allergies.

Danielle Mongeau, a 17-year-old LaSalle Academy junior, will ask the Senate Health and Human Services Committee to approve the bill, which she asked Senator DiPalma to submit, and will speak about her family’s struggles with severe food allergies that make it virtually impossible to eat at most restaurants.

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The legislation (2012-S 2127) is modeled after a Massachusetts law that went into effect last year and would require all food-service establishments to have a food protection manager on staff whois trained and certified in food-allergy awareness.  It would require allergy-awareness posters in staff areas to make all food-service workers cognizant of the importance of their roles in preventing allergic reactions and the steps they can take to protect food-allergic customers. Additionally, restaurants would also be required to post a notice on menus and menu boards asking customers to make servers aware when placing their orders if someone in the party has a food allergy.

The legislation will have a hearing before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee tomorrow, Wednesday, Feb. 15, at the rise of the Senate session (around 4:30 p.m.) in Room 212 on the second floor of the State House.

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Mongeau is allergic to tree nuts, while her 14-year-old sister, Lauren, is allergic to a wide range of ingredients – including dairy, eggs, red meat, mustard, bananas, sesame seeds and many other things. Lauren, who is a freshman at Prout School, has suffered anaphylactic shock – a life-threatening allergic reaction – at restaurants several times, so the Mongeau family rarely eats out.

As his constituent, Mongeau asked Senator DiPalma (D-Dist. 12, Middletown, Newport, Little Compton, Tiverton) to introduce the bill after her family spent a week in Boston after the newMassachusetts law took effect. For the first time outside of trips to Disneyworld (which carefully accommodate food allergies), Mongeau’s family was able to eat anyplace they liked that week.

“They could make a meal for us both in every restaurant we went to,” said Mongeau of her family’s experience in Boston. “We never go out to dinner around here, because no one can accommodate [Lauren’s] allergies.”

Senator DiPalma said he believes the legislation would be good for the restaurant industry, because it would better enable restaurant staff to safely serve customers with allergies, and make it possible for people with allergies who might currently avoid dining out to do so more often

“This legislation will empower the restaurant industry to better serve the public, and will help bring more customers into restaurants, because those with allergies will be able to have confidence that restaurants will know how to protect them,” said Senator DiPalma.

He credited Danielle Mongeau for taking the initiative to contact him with the idea for the legislation, and for her willingness to work to publicly advocate for the legislation on her sister’s behalf.

“This is a great idea that will not only help protect the Mongeau family, but all the people with food allergies who visit restaurants in Rhode Island. Danielle’s advocacy could make a lasting difference for a lot of people in our state,” he said.


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