For some families and individuals, an outing to a local restaurant can end with a trip to the emergency room. Those with food allergies -- an estimated 12 million Americans -- live with the ever-present possibility that a hint of nuts, eggs, shellfish or other allergy triggers might be in any dish. Ingesting those foods can cause them to choke, break out in hives or even die.

Food allergies among children are a growing and especially disturbing problem. It's also a personal issue for St. Paul City Council Member Melvin Carter III, who has seen his 3-year-old daughter have an allergic reaction to restaurant food-- even after a server told him that the food they were served did not contain peanuts. To address the issue in St. Paul, Carter has proposed a helpful ordinance that would require restaurants to display food allergy information for their employees. Scheduled for its first public reading next week, the plan should be approved.

Carter deserves credit for working with local restaurants to craft a smart, more business-friendly compromise. Under a proposal he suggested earlier this year, restaurants with catering licenses would have had to provide an allergen information handbook to anyone upon request. That book would have contained copies of all ingredient labels for food being served.

But restaurant groups and the Chamber of Commerce objected, citing concerns about feasibility, competitive issues in publicizing recipes and liability issues. Some restaurant owners threatened to leave the city. To his credit, Carter listened to the feedback and modified his proposal. Now the ordinance would simply require that posters with information on food allergies be displayed for restaurant employees. A second, complementary ordinance would offer any food license holder a 7 percent fee reduction for providing allergy training to managers.

The current plan is modeled after a similar rule adopted in Massachusetts. Earlier this year, it became the first state to pass a law requiring restaurants to display information on how food allergies relate to preparation. It also requires that menus have statements asking customers to tell servers about their allergies. Employees must be shown an informational video about allergies, and the state's department of health will create a list of "food allergy friendly" establishments. That law goes into effect Jan. 1.

Of course displaying posters alone cannot completely guarantee compliance. With so much staff turnover, it's far from certain that all food handlers will read the information and take it seriously. Nor does providing the information address liability issues. With or without posters, restaurants can still be held responsible if someone becomes ill because of their food. The primary responsibility for avoiding problems still lies with parents and individuals; they must be vigilant about asking questions and alerting restaurant staff.

But raising awareness in restaurants should improve the chances that servers will answer consumer questions accurately or direct customers to managers and cooks who can. With a growing number of Americans dealing with food allergies, food preparation is a serious concern. Getting the right information to restaurant and other food service providers is the kind of preventive step that could prevent thousands of scary hospital visits every year.