Matthew Briden was diagnosed with a peanut allergy at age two. His family grew up reading labels, bringing food everywhere, and educating friends, family, and eventually Matthew himself on how to stay safe.

"When he was 28, he went out to eat at a Pittsburgh restaurant. He ate what he thought was safe food. It was not," said Kathy Briden, Matthew mother. “He injected two EpiPens. Drove to the ER. Was admitted. And 38 minutes later he died of anaphylactic shock.”

That was 19 months ago.

Kathy Briden and her husband Peter have advocated for more food allergy safety in the state ever since- going to their representative, Arvind Venkat (D-30) to request action. Venkat wrote a bill proposing at least one action step.

That bill passed out of the House Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee on Thursday, February 22.

"The legislation that we passed today, House Bill 1869, would require restaurants in our commonwealth to have a display for their employees in a written manner about food allergies," said Venkat.

The bill will also require restaurants to print a notice on their menus that reminds and requests customers to inform servers of their allergies.

Research estimates over 33 million people in the U.S. have a food allergy. Around half of that number have severe, anaphylactic reactions. In turn, over 130 people die each year from food allergy exposure and reaction.

The U.S. Food Code has cross contamination rules for restaurants. But education and awareness can still fall short of keeping people safe.

“We can have a lack of communication that can result in an accidental exposure," said Venkat.

Restaurants do put food allergen safety to practice—like Roxy’s Café in Harrisburg that has a regular with a pork allergy.

“We clean everything, we clean the grill, whatever he’s asking- the spatula." said Armando Martinez, the owner of Roxy's. "He comes pretty much all the time here.”

Martinez noted that requiring signs in kitchens could build confidence for restaurant goers with allergies.

“If you choose this restaurant, say you like the food, but they don’t take care of you- it’s kind of a risk," said Martinez. "You feel more comfortable to go anywhere if they have this kinds of new rules.”

"We can move forward so that no Pennsylvanian goes to a restaurant and feels uncomfortable about the safety and quality of the experience they will have," said Venkat.

Similar legislation is being processed in the senate as well.