California will add 'Non-Ultraprocessed Certified' seal to foods. What that means
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Set us as preferred California is now on track to be the first state to create a front-of-package label to help consumers identify foods in the grocery store aisles that are not ultraprocessed.Gov.
Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2244 into law on Monday, which would “make a label clear in the grocery store so you can actually figure out what [foods are] the better and healthier choice,” the governor said in a video on YouTube.The move comes despite the lack of a nationwide definition for what makes a food “ultraprocessed.” Some experts argue that a patchwork of state-by-state labeling, like California’s, could confuse the food industry as a whole.
Experts say ultraprocessed foods are those that have one or more ingredients that wouldn’t be found in a kitchen.Existing state law defines ultraprocessed foods, for school-provided meals, as any food or beverage that contains high amounts of saturated fat, sodium, added sugar or non-nutritive sweetener — the latter can be artificial (aspartame) or plant-based (Stevia) but are low in calories.
Under Assembly Bill 2244, the California Department of Public Health will be tasked with creating a standard non-ultraprocessed-food label that will be modeled after the widely recognized “USDA Organic” label, according to a news release from Newsom’s office.“The seal will provide consumers with a simple, trustworthy way to identify healthier options with a quick glance,” the release states.
The state public health department will be required to accredit agents to certify food products as non-ultraprocessed no later than June 1, 2028.Non-ultraprocessed foods that bear the new label will be listed on a public website maintained by the state public health department.
The bill also will require grocery stores in California to prominently display products bearing the �...