photo courtesy of the office of California Assembly Member Jesse Gabriel

by Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

On September 28, 2026 California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a bill into law that established the first state-supported labeling program identifying non-ultraprocessed foods. Products will not be required to be labeled; it is a voluntary program.

Certification agents will be accredited by 2029 to certify food products as “Non-Ultraprocessed Certified” or “non-UPC Certified.” The bill creates a fund to support the implementation of this program and to educate the public and food companies about the label requirements. Fees will be established for certification of food products (1).

By law, a food product cannot be certified as “Non-Ultraprocessed Certified” if it meets the state’s criteria for ultraprocessed food (1). California considers a food product to be ultraprocessed if the food product contains surface-active agents, stabilizers and thickeners, propellants, artificial colors, emulsifiers, or artificial colors AND either high amounts of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugars OR a nonnutritive sweetener (2). High amounts of saturated fat, sodium, or added sugars are defined as 10% or more of calories from saturated fat, a ratio of sodium to calories of 1:1 or higher, 10% or more of calories from added sugars. Examples of nonnutritive sweeteners include sorbitol and stevia (2).

It will be interesting to see how this law is affected by any federal definition of ultraprocessed food. As of this writing, the federal government has not issued a definition. Also of interest is the extent to which companies will apply for this certification, the cost of certification, and public interest in purchasing foods labeled “non-UPF certified.”

References

1. AB 2244. Non-Ultraprocessed Certified food standard. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2244. 2026.
2. California Health and Safety Code. DIVISION 103. DISEASE PREVENTION AND HEALTH PROMOTION. PART 3. RISK REDUCTION. CHAPTER 2. Nutrition. ARTICLE 3. Eating for Health [104660 – 104667]. https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=HSC&sectionNum=104661.

To read more about UPF regulations see:

State Regulations Regarding Ultra-Processed Foods and Possible Effects on Vegan Diets

Ultra-Processed Foods in the Senate: What’s Going On?