California creates non-ultra-processed food seal and bars teen diet pills

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday signed legislation creating a voluntary “Non-Ultra-processed Certified” seal for packaged foods and separately barred retailers from selling weight-loss and muscle-building dietary supplements to anyone under 18, putting the country’s largest state market at the centre of the fight over what families put in carts and cabinets.

Assembly Bill 2244 tasks the California Department of Public Health with accrediting third-party certifiers by June 1, 2029, and requires products to be recertified at least every three years. Foods with dyes, flavour enhancers, non-sugar sweeteners or processing aids used to manipulate taste or quality will not qualify. Large grocers that stock more than 25 certified items and take in more than US$10 million a year must display those products with clear signage or separate placement. The law builds on a 2025 measure that defined ultra-processed food and banned it from public schools. Sponsor Jesse Gabriel compared the seal to the USDA Organic mark and said parents should not need a chemistry degree to shop. Consumer group Environmental Working Group called it a higher bar for what counts as healthy food.

AB 2030 makes California the second state after New York to age-gate over-the-counter diet and muscle supplements, citing research that nearly one in 10 adolescents has used such products and that teen diet-pill users face sharply higher eating-disorder risk. Industry groups including the Council for Responsible Nutrition called the marketing-based ban overly broad and vowed to keep pressing for narrower, evidence-tied rules. Canadian shoppers already see U.S. grocery reform bills spill into private-label recipes and cross-border e-commerce; if the California seal catches on, expect “non-UPF” claims on shelves from Vancouver to Halifax long before Ottawa drafts a federal equivalent.