{"id":5502,"date":"2025-10-09T09:07:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:07:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/?p=5502"},"modified":"2025-10-09T09:07:05","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T09:07:05","slug":"california-passes-first-in-nation-law-to-phase-out-ultraprocessed-foods-in-school-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/news\/california-passes-first-in-nation-law-to-phase-out-ultraprocessed-foods-in-school-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"California Passes First-in-Nation Law to Phase Out Ultraprocessed Foods in School Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>Key Points:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law banning \u201cultraprocessed foods of concern\u201d from public school breakfasts and lunches.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state\u2019s Department of Public Health must define which foods qualify by mid-2028.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/a76fe72828984514858781db23ec7005?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schools must begin phasing them out by July 2029 and fully eliminate them by 2035, with vendors banned by 2032.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Landmark Nutrition Reform Takes Effect in Schools<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/ged\/ged-prep-classes-in-california\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">California<\/a> is now the first state in the U.S. to legislate against serving certain ultraprocessed foods to students. With bipartisan backing, Gov. Newsom signed the bill into law on Wednesday at a middle school in Los Angeles, marking a major shift in school nutrition standards.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/2025-1-1.Revised-Healthy-Foods-EO-Final-Gov-Signed.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CA law<\/a> establishes a new statutory definition of ultraprocessed foods\u2014those that contain additives like stabilizers, colorings, sweeteners, and high levels of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugar.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The state\u2019s Public Health Department has until June 2028 to designate which specific products fall under the \u201cfoods of concern\u201d definition.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/a76fe72828984514858781db23ec7005?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Schools will start removing these products beginning July 2029, and by July 2035 they are prohibited from serving them at all. Vendors supplying schools must also comply by 2032.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, who authored the bill, emphasized that <a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/ged\/how-to-prepare-for-the-ged-k-12-schools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">schools<\/a> already moving in this direction have found cost savings or no net expense increase.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Health Impacts, Implementation Hurdles, and National Context<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The move is a response to the growing body of evidence linking high consumption of ultraprocessed foods to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and other adverse health outcomes. Currently, U.S. children consume nearly 62% of their calories from such foods.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2025\/10\/08\/governor-newsom-signs-first-in-the-nation-law-to-ban-ultra-processed-foods-from-school-lunches\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Critics warn the law could strain school districts without additional <a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/ged\/the-financial-aid-for-ged\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">funding<\/a> or clarity on what foods will be banned. Some districts worry about menu flexibility and food supply constraints. Supporters argue that early adopters already show positive outcomes and that California\u2019s rule could spur nationwide reforms.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/2025\/sep\/15\/california-ultra-processed-foods-schools?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This legislation builds on Newsom\u2019s earlier executive order targeting ultraprocessed foods and restrictions on harmful additives and dyes.<\/span> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">At the signing, Newsom stated, \u201cThis first-in-the-nation law \u2026 builds on that work to make sure every California student has access to healthy, delicious meals.\u201d<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.ca.gov\/2025\/10\/08\/governor-newsom-signs-first-in-the-nation-law-to-ban-ultra-processed-foods-from-school-lunches\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As states across the country introduce over 100 bills aiming to regulate ultraprocessed foods, California\u2019s initiative may serve as a blueprint for national policy shifts.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Read Also:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/prepsaret.com\/ged\/how-to-earn-your-ged-and-college-degree-simultaneously\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">How to Earn Your GED and College Degree Simultaneously<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points: Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a law banning \u201cultraprocessed foods of concern\u201d from public school breakfasts and lunches. The state\u2019s Department of Public Health must define which foods qualify by mid-2028.\u00a0 Schools must begin phasing them out by July 2029 and fully eliminate them by 2035, with vendors banned by 2032. Landmark Nutrition [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5508,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[336],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5502","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v22.4 (Yoast SEO v25.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>California Passes First-in-Nation Law to Phase Out Ultraprocessed Foods in School Meals<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"California is now the first state in the U.S. to legislate against serving certain ultraprocessed foods to students.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link 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