The following is an op-ed by Sedina L. Banks and Sherry E. Jackman. Banks is a partner in Greenberg Glusker’s Environmental Group, specializing in regulatory compliance and environmental litigation. Jackman is an environmental litigator and compliance Partner at Greenberg Glusker, representing entities facing challenging and complex environmental issues.
California remains a leader in enacting stringent food safety requirements. On September 28, 2024, Calif. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed two significant food safety bills into law: California Assembly Bill 660 (AB 660) and California School Food Safety Act (AB 2316). These laws are poised to have far-reaching impacts on food labeling and product ingredients.
Assembly Bill 660
The overall goal of AB 660 is to create uniformity in date labels, reduce unnecessary food waste, and improve consumer food safety awareness and understanding. The press release announcing the law, highlighted the law’s goal to standardize food date labels in California to “create clarity and consistency to better inform consumers in order to significantly reduce food waste in the state.”
Starting July 1, 2026, any food manufacturer, processor, or retailer responsible for labeling food items intended for human consumption, when choosing or being legally required to display a date label for quality or safety, must use one of the following standardized terms on products manufactured on or after that date:
1. “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by” to indicate the product’s quality date.
2. “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by” to indicate the product’s safety date.
3. “BB” to denote the quality date on food items too small to include the full term in (1) or on beverages as defined in Section 14504 of the Public Resources Code.
4. “UB” to indicate the safety date on food items too small to display the full term in (2).
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Use of these terms is mandatory because the law provides that: “A person shall not sell or offer for sale in the state a food item for human consumption manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, that displays a quality or safety date label that is not labeled in accordance with the above.”
Further, after July 1, 2026, the phrase “sell by” cannot be used on packaging, however, “sell by” dates may be presented in a coded format not easily readable by consumers and that do not use the phrase “sell by.”
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Permission granted by Greenberg Glusker’s Environmental Group
The amendments go on to say that date labels themselves are not compelled: “Unless otherwise required by law, this section shall not be construed to require the use or display of a date label on a food item for human consumption unless the food item displays a date label.” Moreover, labels linking to online information are acceptable: “This section does not prohibit the use or display of a label that allows consumers to view online information about a food item for human consumption.”
Despite these mandates, the law does carve out some exemptions.
- Grocery stores may sell or offer for sale in California prepared foods with the phrase “packed on” provided the prepared food label also displays a quality or safety date label.
- The requirements also do not prohibit a person from displaying on wine, a distilled spirit, or a wine- or distilled spirit-based product bottled or packaged on and after July 1, 2026, a label with a statement that communicates the date on which the product was produced, manufactured, bottled, or packaged, or from selling or offering for sale in the state the wine, distilled spirit, or wine- or distilled spirit-based product with that label.
- A retail food facility may donate a food item that does not comply with the labeling law.
- The law does not apply to infant formula, eggs, or pasteurized in-shell eggs, or beer and other malt beverages.
Assembly Bill 2316: California School Food Safety Act
The California School Food Safety Act prohibits all public schools in California covering kindergarten through 12th grade, including charter schools, from serving or selling foods containing the artificial dyes Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6. These prohibitions take effect on December 31, 2027.
Proponents of the law cite an April 2021 California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment study, which found that synthetic food dyes, such as those banned by the law, can impact neurobehavior in some children. Other studies have linked food additives to cancer and reproductive issues.
Adoption of the law follows last year’s adoption of the California Food Safety Act (Assembly Bill 418) which prohibits the manufacture, sale, delivery, distribution, holding, or offering for sale of food products containing specific harmful chemicals including brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye 3 commencing January 1, 2027. Taken together, both laws will require the food industry to reformulate existing products to meet California’s stringent standards.
Nationwide Impacts on the Food Industry
The recently enacted food safety laws build upon California’s goal to enhance food safety, improve overall public health, and increase consumer clarity. Not surprisingly, California’s standards greatly exceed federal rules for food safety and labeling and bring California more in line with European Union food safety standards. Even though these laws only apply to California, they will have far-reaching impacts on the United States food industry, given the size of the California economy.
California remains the fifth-largest economy in the world for the seventh consecutive year. For this reason, regulatory requirements applicable in California can substantially influence the national market and drive nationwide change. While some companies may make a business decision to no longer distribute products to California, given California’s economic dominance and the fact that non-California products often end up in California through resellers and distributors, that is typically not a viable option.
To simplify logistics and reduce costs, many companies will voluntarily choose to meet California’s standards for all products sold in the United States, as opposed to having separate products for California. Thereby, California effectively drives change throughout the nation. As with other first-in-the nation-laws adopted by California, we can expect other states to consider similar measures to address these food safety issues.
With looming compliance deadlines, companies must prepare now to ensure compliance with these food ingredient and labeling laws. Companies should start evaluating product lines against California’s new standards to ensure timely compliance without business disruption. Failure to comply could result in lawsuits, penalties, brand equity issues, and other significant consequences.
