Starting July 1, 2026, California will become the first state in the nation to ban “sell by” dates on consumer-facing packaged food labels, replacing decades of confusing labeling practices with a standardized system designed to reduce food waste and save shoppers money. The shift marks a watershed moment in the battle against the throwaway culture that has led Americans to discard billions of dollars worth of perfectly edible food annually.
The landmark law, Assembly Bill 660, which was signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2024 following bipartisan support in the state legislature, responds to a long-standing problem that has frustrated consumers and squandered resources. On grocery store shelves today, more than fifty different phrases appear on food packaging to describe dates, including “sell by,” “best before,” “expires on,” “use by,” and “enjoy by.” Most consumers interpret any date on a food package as a safety deadline, but the reality is far more complex. “Sell by” dates, for instance, are intended only as a guide for retailers on stock rotation and inventory management—they have nothing to do with whether food is safe to consume.
This widespread confusion has profound consequences. A recent Harris Poll cited by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that 88 percent of Americans throw food away when it approaches or passes the date on the package, even though the food remains perfectly safe to eat. Research shows that 20 percent of all avoidable food waste in the United States is caused by consumer confusion over date labels, costing the average American household nearly $1,300 annually in wasted food. For a family of four, the figure can reach three thousand dollars per year.
The environmental toll is staggering. California’s Department of Resources Recycling and Recovery reports that 2.5 billion meals worth of unspoiled food end up in the state’s landfills each year, accounting for nearly half of all waste sent there. As that organic material decomposes, it generates methane, a greenhouse gas with eighty-four times the warming power of carbon dioxide. The decomposing food and organic waste accounts for 41 percent of California’s point-source methane emissions, making food waste a significant driver of climate change.
Starting July 1, AB 660 will require all packaged foods sold in California—with narrow exceptions for eggs, infant formula, beer, wine, and distilled spirits—to carry only one of two standardized date descriptions. For products at peak quality, labels must read either “BEST if Used By” or “BEST if Used or Frozen By.” For products with potential food safety concerns, the only permissible phrase will be “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze By.” For products too small to accommodate full text, abbreviated versions such as “BB” and “UB” will be allowed. These specific phrases are required—capitalization and all.
Critically, the law bans “sell by” dates intended for consumers. However, retailers and distributors may continue using coded dates not easily readable by consumers for internal stock rotation purposes. The change is designed to eliminate the specific source of confusion that leads shoppers to treat a retail inventory tool as a consumer food safety guideline.
The law applies to all food products manufactured on or after July 1, 2026. Items produced earlier may continue to be sold with existing labels, giving manufacturers and retailers a transition period. The distinction between a “quality date” and a “safety date” is central to the law’s approach. Food past its quality date may still be perfectly safe to eat—it simply may not be at peak freshness or flavor. Only foods past a safety date have genuine food safety risks.
Violations are treated as misdemeanors punishable by fines up to one thousand dollars per violation, with potential licensing action and consumer litigation possible. Both manufacturers and retailers bear compliance responsibility, creating incentives for the entire supply chain to ensure accurate labeling.
The legislation emerged from years of advocacy and failed attempts at voluntary industry compliance. A 2017 California law had encouraged voluntary adoption of standardized date labels, but the industry failed to achieve widespread compliance, with numerous date label phrases still circulating. AB 660 makes compliance mandatory, authored by state Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin from Thousand Oaks, who has positioned the measure as essential protection for consumers and the environment alike. The law received support from a diverse coalition including food banks, environmental organizations, and local governments, though it also faced some initial industry resistance that was resolved through amendments.
The implications extend well beyond California’s borders. As the nation’s most populous state, California’s marketplace power means many national food manufacturers may opt to use standardized labeling nationwide rather than maintain separate labeling systems for different states. The law could serve as a catalyst for federal action, as Congress considers a bipartisan Food Date Labeling Act that would establish similar standards nationwide.
For shoppers, the shift requires learning new language on packages, but promises genuine benefits. Items past their “best if used by” dates will be clearly understood as quality concerns rather than safety hazards. The “use by” designation will unambiguously indicate food safety boundaries. With millions of tons of food waste at stake and households struggling with rising grocery costs, the standardization could yield substantial economic and environmental gains while giving consumers the clarity they need to make informed decisions about the food in their refrigerators.