“Is it that hard, really? The state has to step in?”
Lots of people have no idea about food allergy issues. The state is requiring that some people get a clue. Get relevant information about risks that exist in their line of work.
You are mixing two levels of concern. OSHA level stuff which might have to do with being allergic while working in a restaurant, and this new nannydom.
Sorry, America should not be DBrow-beaten.
Why not let restaurants who want to take the trouble to be allergy friendly, be rewarded by patronage by the allergic? You want a nanny.
People with food allergy issues have quite the idea about their own food allergies. They will know what questions to ask, because they will be asking them; wait staff and cooking staff are not altogether uninformed about what is in what, and they do talk to each other, so none of the servers really need to attempt to read minds. The state does not need to interfere; it only does so because it wants to, not because it has to, and as things always fall out when the state steps in, there will be a bigger mess than if they did not leave well enough alone.