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Freedom251 › Blog › AB 2244

What to Know About California’s New Ultra-Processed Foods Label Law

By Freedom251 Team · · 3 min read

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California’s AB 2244 creates a voluntary state certification seal for qualifying foods and drinks sold at retail. It does not ban ultra-processed foods in grocery stores or require every product to carry a warning. The law sets a deadline for accrediting certifiers, but it does not establish that the certification program or public product list is already operating.

What AB 2244 does—and does not do

Signed and filed on September 28, 2026, AB 2244, Chapter 721, authorizes a “Non-Ultraprocessed Certified” standard for finished foods and beverages intended for sale in retail food facilities. A manufacturer may choose to seek certification. Only products certified under the program may display California’s standardized seal. The governor’s office described it as a voluntary standard intended to help consumers identify qualifying products. The signing announcement and the chaptered statute describe a certification option, not a universal warning-label mandate or a retail ban.

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The statute says the Legislature intends to give consumers accessible information for making informed nutrition choices. It does not mean that foods without the seal are necessarily unhealthy or that a package’s use of words such as “natural” or “healthy” amounts to state certification.

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Who can qualify, and how certification works

The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) must accredit entities that can certify products by June 1, 2029. An agent may not certify a product if it meets the statute’s additive criteria for an ultra-processed food, is classified as an “Ultraprocessed Food of Concern,” or is classified as a “Restricted School Food.” The statute provides for recertification at least once every three years; a reformulated product must be recertified before it continues to use the seal. AB 2244’s chaptered text sets out these conditions.

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Certification agents must submit specified product and manufacturer information to CDPH, including the product name, ingredients, nutrition facts, manufacturer and brand, GTIN and UPC, and certification date, along with any additional information the department requires. The department must maintain a public webpage listing currently certified foods as reported by agents.

When the label and public list will be available

The statute requires CDPH to accredit certification agents no later than June 1, 2029, and to create a standardized seal. It does not, by itself, show that CDPH has opened applications, finalized all implementation requirements, or published a list of certified products. The list is a required part of the program, but its existence in the statute does not establish that it is live now. Check CDPH’s updates before assuming that a product can already be certified or that a directory is available.

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The seal may include the words “Non-Ultraprocessed Certified Food Standard” or “Non-UPF Certified.” A certified product may display it on the principal display panel, the information panel, or elsewhere on the package, provided it does not obscure required label information. Because placement can vary, shoppers should not rely only on a front-of-package search; once CDPH’s public list is available, they can use it to verify a product.

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When grocery stores must make certified products identifiable

AB 2244 adds a conditional visibility requirement, not a general obligation for stores to stock certified products. Once CDPH has created the seal, a covered grocery store must make at least three certified products clearly identifiable if it offers more than 25 certified items. The store must also have gross annual sales above $10 million. Physical separation, signage, or other visual cues may satisfy the visibility requirement. Certain convenience and fuel-oriented stores are excluded from the statute’s grocery-store definition.

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The grocery-store provision is scheduled to be repealed on January 1, 2040. The thresholds and date are statutory conditions in Chapter 721, not reported outcomes about how many stores or products will be covered.

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How this differs from California’s school-food law

AB 2244 is the retail certification-label law. It is separate from AB 1264, signed in 2025, which addresses foods served in schools and sets a timeline for phasing certain ultra-processed foods out of school meals. The governor’s AB 1264 announcement describes that school-food policy; CDPH’s Real Food, Healthy Kids page is its related implementation resource. The two laws should not be conflated: AB 2244 does not enact the school-meal phaseout.

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AB 2244California Lawconsumer policyfood labelingultra-processed foods

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