California bill would put 'non-ultra-processed' seal on food packaging

OAKLAND, Calif. - California lawmakers are pushing a first-in-the-nation proposal that would place a state-certified label on food packaging identifying products that are not ultra-processed — making it easier for shoppers to identify healthier options at the grocery store.

Assembly member Jesse Gabriel of Encino announced Assembly Bill 2244 this week, calling it a transparency measure for consumers.

"Parents shouldn't need a PhD in chemistry to try to understand what it is that they're feeding their kids," Gabriel said.

Ultra-processed foods make up more than two-thirds of children's diets and more than half of a typical adult's diet in the United States. They have been linked to cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

Bernadette Del Chiaro, Senior Vice President of the Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit public health and environmental advocacy group that co-sponsors the bill, said studies show Americans are struggling to distinguish between processed and ultra-processed foods.

"We want to make it easier for Californians to buy healthy food," Del Chiaro said. "The simple idea behind this bill is to create a California certified label, make it at the front of the package, make it really easy for busy parents in particular, shopping in the grocery stores every week, to be able to buy healthier food for our families."

Under California law, ultra-processed foods are defined as products that contain chemically modified ingredients not found in a typical kitchen cabinet and are high in fat, sugar or salt.

Del Chiaro said the food industry's path to ultra-processed products was deliberate.

"Manufacturers realized that the more they designed these food products to be addictive, the more they could sell," she said, noting that some companies — including Philip Morris — applied strategies used to make cigarettes addictive to food products.

If passed, a state agency would oversee a certification process similar to California's existing organic food labeling program — which was also a first in the nation when it launched decades ago. Third-party companies certified by the state would administer the seal.

Del Chiaro said she expects food companies to respond by reformulating their products.

"Most companies realize they're reading the room and they're realizing consumers want to move in this direction," she said. "They'll just start to reformulate those packaged foods to make them healthier for us."

California passed a law last year defining ultra-processed foods and banning them from K-12 school lunches. AB 2244 would build on that legislation by extending the labeling system to grocery store shelves statewide.