In 2020, when Democrat Jen Lunsford was running for New York State Assembly, her son, who was three years old at the time, suffered an anaphylactic reaction after taking a bite of a cookie from a local bakery.
"Within about a minute, he started complaining that his tongue felt spicy, and then he started crying," Lunsford said.
Soon afterwards, the toddler complained that he felt like there was a hamburger in his throat — an indication that his throat was swelling.
Lunsford didn't realize that the cookie contained ground walnuts, which her son is allergic to. Although the incident was terrifying, the boy recovered after an ambulance took him to a hospital for treatment.
Now, five years later, Lunsford is celebrating the signing of legislation she co-sponsored, which she hopes will prevent this from happening to anyone else with food allergies.
The new law requires bakeries, delis and shops that prepare and package food products on site to clearly indicate on a label whether the product contains any of the major food allergens identified by the FDA such as nuts, milk, eggs or fish.
Manufacturers that distribute food in bulk already must carefully label their products under FDA rules.
But that does apply to smaller operations, which is why New York lawmakers voted unanimously this year to close that loophole.
"If you go to DiBella's and you order a sandwich, they don't hand you that sandwich and say, 'This contains sesame, wheat and milk'," Lunsford explained.
She understood how important it was to push for the legislation not only because of her son's near tragedy. Lunsford recalls witnessing an incident when she was in high school that had a much different outcome.
An older classmate was handed some Reece’s Pieces, which she thought were M&Ms.
"You know, in the 90s, people didn't have EPIPENS ( a device used to treat severe allergic reactions). We didn't know about food allergies. She slipped into a coma and died."
To make the new requirement easier for small shops to comply with, they won't have to list every ingredient in a food item. They must simply state in writing whether the food contains any of the top nine major allergens.
The legislation will take effect in November 2026. Lunsford has called it one of her proudest achievements as an Assemblymember.
