US Edition
Harmful Ultraprocessed Foods May Be Removed From Billions of California School Lunches
- California passed AB 1264 in 2025 to remove harmful ultraprocessed foods from billions of school lunches across the state.
- The bill was developed in response to health concerns about certain harmful food additives associated with cancer and negative effects on reproduction, gaining support from both political parties and advocacy groups such as the Environmental Working Group and Eat Real.
- AB 1264 requires experts to define the most detrimental ultraprocessed foods by July 1, 2026, starting the phased removal from schools by 2028 and full implementation by 2032.
- Jesse Gabriel, who introduced the bill, said it would be the first such worldwide statutory definition, while critics warn it could limit nutrient-dense foods and increase prices.
- The legislation aims to improve children's health significantly by accelerating schools' shifts from ultraprocessed foods, exemplified by Morgan Hill's 34-pound sugar reduction per student annually.
14 Articles
14 Articles
Popular food brands at center of lawsuit taking aim at ultra-processed foods
Eleven major food companies, including Kraft Heinz and PepsiCo, face a federal lawsuit in Pennsylvania accusing them of marketing ultra-processed foods (UPFs) using tactics similar of Big Tobacco.
California bill would ban ultra-processed foods from school lunch programs
California is one step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to ban ultra-processed foods in public school lunches with bipartisan legislation approved by the state Assembly. The bill, AB 1264, introduced by Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel, would direct the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment to define ultra-processed foods and identify particularly harmful ones to be phased out of school meals by 2032. The legis…
Staff/RG The objective is to disseminate actions for the protection of the health of children and adolescents In order to promote actions to protect the health of the population's children, the State Congress carried out the series of conferences on ultraprocessed foods and their impact on children's health, as well as actions for a healthy lunch box, based on a sustainable diet.
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