California has signed new legislation mandating clearer nutritional labelling for packaged foods, restaurant menus, and children’s meals, aiming to promote healthier choices and reduce food confusion by 2029.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a package of food policy bills that will reshape how shoppers and diners see nutritional information in the state, adding new labelling rules for packaged foods, restaurant menus and children’s meals over the next few years. The measures are part of a wider state push to make healthier choices easier to identify at a glance, while also trying to reduce confusion about how food is described and sold.
One of the centrepieces is AB 2244, which creates a state label for foods classified as non-ultra-processed. According to the governor’s office, California will begin certifying qualifying products over the coming years before the label appears on packaging from January 1, 2029. The law is intended to give shoppers clearer front-of-pack information and encourage manufacturers to highlight less heavily processed products, a category that typically excludes items such as packaged snacks and frozen meals.
Another measure, SB 869, will require added sugar warnings on restaurant menus. Under the law, drinks such as sodas that exceed the recommended daily amount of sugar will need an icon to make that clear to customers, with the requirement also set to take effect in January 2029. A third bill, SB 977, will oblige chain restaurants to offer at least one children’s meal that contains no more than 550 calories and meets certain nutritional standards by July 2027. Together, the bills build on California’s recent food-safety and nutrition efforts, including a separate law that standardises date labels on packaged foods to cut waste and reduce confusion over phrases such as “best if used by” and “use by”.
Newsom cast the legislation as part of a broader healthcare strategy that favours prevention over treatment. In a statement released by his office, he said: “We should be about healthcare, not sick-care, recognizing that preventing illnesses is far preferable to finding , and affording , treatments,” adding that California is “focused on making whole, healthy foods as accessible as possible”. The governor also argued that the state has a habit of moving first on public-health policy and helping set a model for the rest of the country.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
