California's "Sell By" Ban Is Now Law and Could Change How All Americans Shop for Food

A Confusing Label, Finally Gone

You've probably stood in a grocery store aisle, stared at a "sell by" date on a carton of milk or a package of ground beef, and wondered: does this mean it's unsafe, or just that the store should have pulled it from the shelf by now? That confusion — playing out in millions of kitchens across the country — is exactly what California is trying to end. Starting July 1, 2026, California now prohibits the sale of most food items for human consumption that aren't labeled using standardized terms, and bans consumer-facing "sell by" dates entirely.

Experts say "sell by" labels were always intended as a guide for retailers on how long to display products on shelves — not as an indicator of whether food is still safe to consume. Yet for decades, shoppers have treated them as expiration warnings. A survey found that 91% of consumers reported that they at least occasionally discarded food past its "sell by" date out of concern for food safety, and 25% reported always doing so. The result? Enormous, unnecessary waste.

What the New Rules Actually Mean

Manufacturers selling food in California must now use two standardized labels — a "Best if Used By" label for peak quality and a "Use By" label for product safety. Food manufacturers can choose to use either label or both. The distinction matters: "Best if Used By" tells you when a product is at its tastiest, while "Use By" signals a genuine safety concern. Retailers can still use coded "sell by" dates for stock rotation purposes, provided those codes aren't easily readable by consumers.

There are currently more than 50 differently phrased date labels used across the U.S. — from "Sell By" to "Expires On" to "Freshest Before" to "Please Enjoy By" — and each can be used to communicate different things by different brands. As one food waste policy expert put it, "Consumers get confused and they just default to assuming that whatever date is on the package means 'don't eat it and throw it away.'" California's law cuts through that chaos with just two clear, standardized phrases.

The Scale of the Problem

With no federal regulations dictating what information labels should include, consumer confusion has led to nearly 20% of the nation's food waste, according to the FDA. In California alone, that translates to about 6 million tons of unexpired food tossed in the trash each year. The environmental toll compounds the problem. As organic waste decomposes in landfills, it accounts for 41% of the state's methane emissions — a greenhouse gas with 84 times the power to heat the climate as carbon dioxide.

Food banks and food pantries have also suffered under the old system, often receiving packaged foods past their "sell by" dates only to find that customers reject them as spoiled — keeping edible food from hungry citizens at a time when 1 in 5 Californians struggle with food insecurity. The financial cost to households is equally striking: the average American spends over $1,300 a year on food that is never eaten.

A Ripple Effect Across the Nation

California has become the first state to ban consumer-facing "sell by" dates on packaged foods. The legislation was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom on September 28, 2024, with the goal of standardizing food date labeling practices and reducing confusion that leads to unnecessary food disposal. The state became the first in the nation to standardize food labels as part of a broader push to reduce food waste and greenhouse gas emissions. Assemblywoman Jacqui Irwin, the bill's author, called its signing "a monumental step to keep money in the pockets of consumers while helping the environment and the planet."

California and New York's approval of food-labeling laws has added momentum to the push for a national standard, and a bipartisan bill that would establish uniform food labels is currently pending in Congress. Because major food manufacturers often streamline their packaging nationwide rather than produce separate versions for individual states, California's rules have a history of reshaping practices far beyond its borders. Advocates are hopeful that AB 660 will serve as a catalyst for similar legislation in other states and accelerate enactment of the Federal Food Date Labeling Act, which similarly aims to clear up food date label confusion and reduce food waste nationwide.