The governor’s office said Sept. 28, 2026, that Governor signed a package of health and nutrition bills including a first-in-the-nation label for non‑ultraprocessed foods and new menu sugar warnings.
The signed bills set up a voluntary certification and front-of-package non‑ultraprocessed (non‑UPF) standard in AB 2244 by Assemblymember (D-Encino); the office described the approach as voluntary and market-based, modeled on the USDA Organic program, with improved in-store placement to increase access to whole foods. "Like the USDA Organic label, this new seal will provide consumers with clear, trustworthy information and make it easier for them to locate healthier foods that are free from harmful additives," Assemblymember Gabriel said in the release.
Other measures in the package require chain restaurants to display warnings on menu items whose drinks exceed recommended daily sugar intake (SB 869, Sen. , D-San Diego), require at least one children’s meal meeting nutrition minimums at chain restaurants (SB 977, Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson), and require manufacturers to disclose all intentionally added ingredients in children’s diapers (AB 1901, Assemblymember , D-Menlo Park).
The package also bans sales of certain over-the-counter diet pills or dietary supplements for weight loss or muscle building to anyone under 18 (AB 2030, Assemblymember , D-Long Beach); restricts single-use vapes and some vape advertising that mimic products marketed to minors (AB 762, Assemblymember , D-Thousand Oaks, and AB 2667, Assemblymember , R-Alturas); and requires tobacco retailers to display lung cancer screening awareness signage.
The governor’s office tied the bills to existing state programs. It said the Farm to School Program will get a new vendor-finding program under AB 1731 (Assemblymember , D-Suisun City), and noted that California’s universal school meals program has served almost 3.5 billion free meals since 2021 and that Farm to School reaches more than half of the state’s public school students.
The release cited research linking ultra-processed foods and certain additives to long-term health harms including cancer, cardiovascular disease, Type 2 diabetes and metabolic disorders, and it said youth who use nonprescribed diet pills are at higher risk of eating disorders; the office used those findings to frame the bills as preventive public-health measures. For the full texts of the bills, the office directed readers to the state legislative information site at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov.
State
Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named 3 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Jesse Gabriel
State Assembly Member · Democrat
Named 2 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Akilah Weber Pierson
State Senator · Democrat
Named 2 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Marc Berman
State Assembly Member · Democrat
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Josh Lowenthal
State Assembly Member · Democrat
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Jacqui Irwin
State Assembly Member · Democrat
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Heather Hadwick
State Assembly Member · Republican
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Lori D. Wilson
State Assembly Member · Democrat
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
Sources & methodology
This report was written from the primary materials below. Links open at the original publisher.
Office of the Governor of CaliforniaSee something we should correct? Read our corrections policy.