Bipartisan, common sense, science-based': California leads the way in banning ultra-processed school meals

"California has long led the way on school meals. In 2022, it became the first state in the country to make school meals free for all students, regardless of income. Many districts have implemented farm-to-school programs to bring local foods into the cafeteria. And last year, months before the Make America healthy again movement would make its way to the White House, it became the first state in the nation to ban six synthetic food dyes from school meals."

"On Friday, California lawmakers passed a bill that will define, and then ban, ultra-processed foods from school meals. The legislation, which must now be signed by the governor, Gavin Newsom, is believed to include the first statutory definition of ultra-processed foods in the world. We have so far found a formula that we think works and can help guide the national conversation on these issues, said California state assembly member Jesse Gabriel, who sponsored the bill. That formula, he said, is bipartisan, common sense, science-based."

"Ultra-processed foods, or UPFs, are industrially formulated products that are often high in fats, starches, sugars and additives, and make up 73% of the US food supply today. Think fast food, microwave dinners, sodas, chips, and even packaged bread and sweetened yoghurts. Although nutritionists have been talking about UPFs for more than a decade, the US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr a longtime pseudoscience proponent made them a household term through his Make America healthy again coalition."

California expanded school-meal initiatives by making meals free for all students in 2022 and promoting farm-to-school programs to increase local foods in cafeterias. The state previously banned six synthetic food dyes from school meals and now passed legislation to define and ban ultra-processed foods (UPFs) from school meals, pending the governor’s signature. The law is believed to include the world’s first statutory definition of UPFs. UPFs are industrially formulated products high in fats, starches, sugars, and additives and make up roughly 73% of the US food supply. Growing concern has prompted other states to explore limits.

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