California ultraprocessed food ban: California will become the first state in the US to phase out certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals under a new law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, as per a report.
The legislation bans what it calls "ultraprocessed foods of concern" from being served in public school breakfasts and lunches, giving schools a 10-year deadline to fully remove them, as per a NBC News report.
The law defines ultraprocessed foods as those that pose the greatest health risks based on scientific evidence. It directs the state Department of Public Health to decide which specific products meet that definition by June 2028.
State Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, the Democrat who introduced the bill, highlighted that, "There's really a growing awareness, particularly among millennial parents like myself, about how what we feed our kids is not important just to their physical health, but also so deeply connected to their mental health and their emotional well-being," as quoted in the NBC News report.
Gabriel added that, "We have a lot of parents like me in the Legislature, and it turns out that whether they're Democrat or Republicans or conservative or progressive, parents want the same thing," as quoted in the report.
The bill passed the Legislature in September with bipartisan support, and Newsom said at a signing ceremony at Belvedere Middle School in Los Angeles, "It's a movement that should unite all of us, regardless of political stripes," as quoted by NBC News.
On average, children and adolescents in the United States get nearly 62% of their calories from ultraprocessed foods, items that usually contain few whole ingredients, as per the NBC News report.
California's law defines "ultraprocessed foods" as products that contain one or more additives, such as stabilizers, thickeners, colorings, or nonnutritive sweeteners, along with high levels of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugar, as per the report.
A separate definition covers "ultraprocessed foods of concern," which are the products schools will need to phase out starting in 2029 and eliminate completely by 2035, according to the NBC News report.
The Department of Public Health will evaluate foods based on their addictive potential, scientific evidence of health risks, and whether other states or countries have banned or restricted them, as per the report.
Gabriel said schools that have already moved away from ultraprocessed meals have not faced higher costs, saying: "We found that for those school districts that have already moved in this direction, not only does it not cost them more to serve kids real, healthy food, they were actually saving money," as quoted in the report.
What is California's new food law?
It bans certain ultraprocessed foods from school meals over the next decade.
When will schools need to stop serving these foods?
Schools must start phasing them out by 2029 and fully remove them by 2035.