{"id":6202,"date":"2026-07-02T16:31:30","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:31:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6202"},"modified":"2026-07-02T16:31:30","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T16:31:30","slug":"why-californias-sell-by-label-ban-could-spread-nationwide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6202","title":{"rendered":"Why California’s ‘sell by’ label ban could spread nationwide"},"content":{"rendered":"

California’s new ban on confusing food date labels could reshape how packaged groceries are labeled across the country, as other states weigh similar rules and food manufacturers face pressure to adopt a single national standard.<\/p>

Read more Texas Rangers, Budweiser aim to shatter Guinness World Record for largest glass of beer<\/a><\/p>

California bans ‘sell-by’ labels\u00a0<\/h2>

Dig deeper:<\/p>

<\/div>

California will fundamentally change how grocery items are marked under a new consumer protection law aimed at drastically cutting down statewide food waste.\u00a0<\/p>

RELATED: <\/strong>California bans ‘sell-by’ labels to fight food waste with mandatory new grocery rules<\/strong><\/p>

Assembly Bill 660 is an enacted consumer protection law designed to stop billions of pounds of unspoiled food from unnecessarily entering California landfills.\u00a0<\/p>

Under the legislation, confusing and varied grocery terms are prohibited on consumer-facing packaging.<\/p>

Instead, the state mandates a streamlined, uniform terminology system that separates food freshness from health risks.\u00a0<\/p>

Manufacturers are required to use the phrase “BEST if Used by” to indicate peak product quality. Conversely, the phrase “USE by” must be reserved strictly for public food safety warnings.<\/p>

The new guidelines will be fully implemented by July 1.<\/p>

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n

Trays of beef are for sale in the meat section of a supermarket in Arlington, Virginia. (Photo by SAUL LOEB \/ AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span> <\/p> <\/div><\/div>

Other states may follow suit<\/h2>

Big picture view:<\/p>

California became the first state in the U.S. to standardize food labels when it approved the law in 2024 that seeks to reduce food waste and the state\u2019s climate-warming emissions. New York state lawmakers recently approved a similar law that is awaiting Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s signature.<\/p>

Read more American woman arrested at border with 57 pounds of meth<\/a><\/p>

Legislation addressing food labeling also has been proposed in Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and South Carolina, though it has not passed in those states.<\/p>

There are more than 50 different date labels on packaged food sold in stores, according to a 2022 report on food waste published by the University of Maryland. The information in the labels is largely unregulated and often does not relate to food safety.<\/p>

Currently, the only product that is regulated federally with date labels is infant formula.<\/p>

With no federal regulations dictating what information labels should include, the stamps have led to consumer confusion \u2014 and nearly 20% of the nation\u2019s food waste, according to the Food and Drug Administration. In California, that\u2019s about 6 million tons of unexpired food that\u2019s tossed in the trash each year.<\/p>

What they’re saying:<\/p>

Nick Lapis, director of advocacy at Californians Against Waste, which co-sponsored the bill, said food labels are the leading cause of household food waste. The “sell by” date labels have also been a problem for food banks in California because people consider those dates as meaning the food has expired, he said.<\/p>

“We don\u2019t need to build some kind of huge infrastructure and invest tons of money to solve this. We just need companies to use the same words across brands,” he said.<\/p>

Nate Rose, a spokesperson for the California Grocers Association, said some grocers have had to overhaul their labeling systems, but as a whole, the association has been supportive of the change.<\/p>

The new labels will result in “a win-win where we can reduce food waste and consumers will find these decisions a little bit simpler,” he said, adding that shoppers will still find old labels in stores for months to come as grocers sell through the products that already have them.<\/p>

Read more Liberty County pastor accused of sexually abusing a child<\/a><\/p> <\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

California has become the first state to standardize food date labels, banning terms like “sell by” on most consumer-facing food packaging in an effort to reduce food waste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,61],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6202","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-consumer","category-food-and-drink"],"yoast_head":"\nWhy California's 'sell by' label ban could spread nationwide - Houston Moving Journal<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/houstonmovingjournal.com\/?p=6202\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why California's 'sell by' label ban could spread nationwide - 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