California legislation bans ‘sell by’ food labels

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California legislation bans ‘sell by’ food labels

28 Jul 2026

Maddie Lambert

Maddie Lambert is a copywriter and editor from Joplin, MO. She graduated from Missouri Southern State University with a Bachelor of Arts in English – literary studies. When she’s not poring over the magazine or lost in the pages of a new novel, you can find Maddie exploring her local bookstores, spending time with her husband, or sharing her latest literary discoveries with fellow book enthusiasts.

KANSAS CITY, MO — It’s an age-old dilemma. A consumer purchases a loaf of bread, sticks it in the pantry, picks it up a couple of days later, but wedged on the front is a “sell by” date … often accompanied by a separate “use by” or “best by” date. What follows is a begrudging toss in the trash and a supermarket stop planned.

According to a study by ReFED, confusion over food date labels contributes close to three billion pounds of food waste annually, totaling around $7 billion worth. This widespread confusion between the different dates often leads consumers to throw away perfectly safe food. Most consumers don’t realize the “sell-by” date is only meant for store shelf rotation, so they unwittingly contribute to the growing food waste issue in the US.

To help clear the disorder and eradicate unnecessary food waste, the state of California implemented a new food labeling law that requires food manufacturers that choose to display expiration-style dates on products sold in the state to use uniform language and prohibit consumer-facing “sell by” labels. Under Assembly Bill 660, food manufacturers, processors and retailers with date labels on food manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, must use “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by” to indicate product quality and “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by” to indicate food safety.

In 2024, California became the first state in the US to standardize food labels when it approved Assembly Bill 660, seeking to reduce food waste and the state’s climate-warming emissions. New York state lawmakers recently approved a similar law that is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul’s signature.

“We support efforts to provide consumers with clear and concise labeling that improves understanding of product quality and reinforces confidence in the safety of the food supply.” — Rasma Zvaners | VP of government relations | American Bakers Association

The American Bakers Association (ABA) chimed in on the packaging update, noting its support for clearer consumer-facing labeling.

“ABA has monitored California’s legislation since its enactment in 2024 regarding consumer-facing ‘sell by’ labels, as well as similar legislation recently passed but not yet signed into law in New York,” said Rasma Zvaners, VP of government relations at ABA. “We support efforts to provide consumers with clear and concise labeling that improves understanding of product quality and reinforces confidence in the safety of the food supply.”

While Assembly Bill 660 prohibits California-sold covered food products from displaying consumer-facing “sell by” labels, retailers may continue using stock-rotation labels that cannot be easily identified by consumers.

According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, more than 50 differently worded date labels have been used in the US. Legislation addressing food labeling also has been proposed in Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey, Maryland and South Carolina, but has not been passed in those states as of now.

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