By Kashmira Konduparty
California has become the first U.S. state to standardize food date labels, replacing a patchwork of expiration-related terms with uniform language aimed at reducing food waste and consumer confusion. The new law took effect Wednesday and applies to food products manufactured on or after July 1.
Under Assembly Bill 660, food manufacturers selling products in California can no longer use consumer-facing “sell by” labels. Instead, products that can carry date labels must use one of two standardized categories: “Best is Used By” or “Best is Used of Frozen By” to indicate peak quality, and “Use By” or “Use By or Freeze By” to indicate when food may no longer be safe to consume. Coded “sell by” dates may still be used internally by retailers for inventory management.
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State officials say the change is intended to address widespread misunderstanding of food date labels. According to the California Department of Food and Agriculture, more than 50 different phrases have been used on food packaging across the United States, leading many consumers to discard food that remains safe to eat. Research cited by the state estimates that confusion over date labels contributes to roughly 20% of avoidable food waste.
The environmental impact is also significant. California estimates that about 2.5 billion meals’ worth of edible food is discarded each year, accounting for nearly half of the material sent to the state’s landfills. As organic waste decomposes, it releases methane, a greenhouse gas far more potent than carbon dioxide over the short term. The law can reduce unnecessary food waste and help ease food insecurity by increasing the amount of edible food available for donation.
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The legislation was authored by Democratic Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin and signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2024 after receiving bipartisan support. While the law standardizes terminology for products that display date labels, it does not require manufacturers to add expiration dates if they previously did not do so. Eggs, infant formula, beer and certain malt beverages are exempt from the new requirements.
As California is one of the nation’s largest consumer markets, industry observers expect many food manufacturers to adopt the standardized labels nationwide rather than produce separate packaging for California. Similar legislation has already been enacted in New York, while several other states are considering comparable measures.
The law will be enforced primarily through local health agencies under the California Retail Food Code. State officials say the changes are designed to make food labels easier for consumers to understand while reducing unnecessary waste and improving confidence in determining whether food is still safe to eat.