A new California law set to take effect July 1, 2026 will standardize how expiration dates are labeled on food packaging. AB 660, signed by Governor Newsom in September 2024, will eliminate consumer-facing “sell by” dates and require manufacturers, processors, and retailers to use one of two labels: “BEST if Used by” or “USE by.”
A “BEST if Used by” label will be used to indicate the peak quality of a food item, meaning it can still be consumed after that date. A “USE by” label will be used as a safety threshold, meaning the food should not be consumed after that date.
Assembly Member Jacqui Irwin first introduced the bill in 2023, citing consumer confusion over labeling. “On grocery store shelves today, there are more than 50 differently phrased date labels on packaged food,” her office wrote in a press release. “Some phrases are used to communicate peak freshness of a product or when a product is no longer safe to eat. Others, like “sell by,” are used only to inform stock rotation in stores but mislead some consumers into thinking the product is no longer safe to eat.”
That confusion also carries a financial cost, according to Irwin’s office, which cited a figure from a 2020 study published in Nutrition Journal, finding that the average American spends $1,300 on food that is never eaten.
Not all food products will fall under the new requirements. The new labeling rules will not apply to infant formula, eggs, pasteurized in-shell eggs, beer, and other malt beverages.
Similar bills have also been introduced in New Jersey and Illinois. A federal version, the Food Date Labeling Act, was introduced in Congress in 2023 and again in 2025, but has yet to advance past the committee stage.
