Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill making California the first state to put a "Non-Ultraprocessed Certified" seal on grocery packaging.

Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2244 on Monday, Sept. 28, at UCLA Mattel Children's Hospital, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times. The bill passed both chambers unanimously: 72-0 in the Assembly and 32-0 in the Senate.

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) will design the seal, modeled after the USDA Organic label. The department must accredit agents to certify products by June 1, 2028. Grocery stores will then be required to prominently display certified items, and a public state website will list every product that earns the seal.

"Parents shouldn't need a Ph.D. in chemistry to understand what they're feeding their kids," Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, the Encino Democrat who authored the bill, said at the Sept. 28 signing ceremony.

Ultraprocessed foods are generally defined as products containing preservatives, flavorings or other additives not found in a home kitchen. Existing California law already defines them for school meals as foods high in saturated fat, sodium, added sugar or non-nutritive sweeteners. The new seal extends that concept to retail shelves statewide.

A USC Keck School of Medicine study published in November 2025 tracked 85 young adults over four years and found a 10% increase in ultraprocessed food consumption was associated with a 64% higher risk of prediabetes. Researchers noted the study was observational. Experts at UC Davis have cautioned that most research in this area relies on self-reported dietary data.

Not everyone is sold on a state-level approach. Anna Rosales, vice president of science and policy at the Institute of Food Technologists, warned that "[m]anufacturers, retailers, schools, and consumers could eventually face different interpretations of what qualifies as an ultra-processed food." The IFT noted that whole-grain bread, yogurt, fortified cereals and infant formula can all be classified as ultraprocessed under common systems despite providing nutritional benefits.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Agriculture are working on a uniform federal definition, which the FDA has called a priority for 2026.

For LA shoppers, the practical change is still about 20 months away. The CDPH rulemaking process and the June 2028 certification deadline will determine which products carry the new seal and how stores arrange them on shelves.