Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 1264, the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act, making California the first state to legally define ultra-processed foods and begin removing the most concerning items from school menus.
- The law sets a phased schedule requiring schools to start phasing out restricted products by July 1, 2029, with vendors barred from offering those items to schools starting July 1, 2032, and full removal of the most harmful products by 2035.
- The California Department of Public Health, working with University of California experts, will designate "UPFs of concern" and "restricted school foods" using criteria that include banned additives elsewhere, scientific links to disease, and potential for food addiction.
- The policy builds on earlier state actions, including AB 418 (2023) and AB 2316 (2024) restricting certain additives and dyes in schools, as well as a January 2025 executive order directing a review of ultra-processed foods.
- Backers describe the law as bipartisan and science-based to protect children’s health, while critics raise concerns about choice and costs, and state officials point to CDC findings of high prediabetes rates among teens.