New California law simplifies food expiration date labels, prohibits ‘sell by’

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law aimed at clearing up the meanings of expiration dates on foods.

Assembly Bill 660 will require most expiration date labeling on food packaging to either use the phrase “USE by” or “BEST if Used by.” The law also allows for specific variations of that phrasing to include “freeze by” date suggestions.

“On grocery store shelves today, there are more than 50 differently phrased date labels on packaged food,” the law’s author Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin said. “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.”

Smaller packaging that may not have room for the full phrases can use the shortened “BB” for “BEST if Used by” or “UB” for “USE by.”

Additionally, products are prohibited from displaying a “sell by” date, which Irwin said leads to “consumer confusion.”

With the exception of baby formula, there are no federal laws requiring food packaging to have an expiration date.

The law will apply to foods manufactured on or after July 1, 2026.

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