California has passed legislation to ban ultra-processed foods (UPFs) from school meals, becoming the first state in the nation—and reportedly the first jurisdiction in the world—to create a statutory definition of such foods. The bill, which now awaits Governor Gavin Newsom's signature, was sponsored by state assembly member Jesse Gabriel and passed on Friday with bipartisan support.
Ultra-processed foods are industrially formulated products high in fats, starches, sugars, and additives, comprising 73% of the US food supply. Examples include fast food, microwave dinners, sodas, chips, packaged bread, and sweetened yoghurts. The legislation aims to remove these items from school cafeterias, building on California's earlier bans on synthetic food dyes and certain chemicals already prohibited in the European Union.
Experts anticipate a 'California effect' that could push other states to follow suit. At least 18 states have introduced over 40 bills restricting additives in school meals, with Arizona, Arkansas, Louisiana, Utah, and West Virginia passing laws this year. However, defining UPFs remains challenging, with food policy experts often relying on the Nova classification system, which categorises products as ultra-processed if they are industrially formulated to be 'edible, palatable and habit-forming'.
Assembly member Gabriel noted the bipartisan nature of the effort, saying it is 'common sense, science-based'. He expressed surprise that the US lags behind other nations on food safety, stating, 'We don’t love our kids here in the United States any less than they love their kids in Sweden or Saudi Arabia or South Korea.' The move aligns with growing national concern over food safety, amplified by US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr's 'Make America healthy again' campaign.
