California enacts nation’s first law to define and ban ultraprocessed foods

California has passed the first law in the nation regulating ultraprocessed foods in the state's public schools. EzumeImages/iStockphoto/Getty Images/File

California made history Wednesday by enacting the first law in the United States to define and ultimately ban unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, from meals served to over one billion California schoolchildren annually.

By signing the “Real Food, Healthy Kids Act” into law, California Gov. Gavin Newsom has taken control of a growing movement to reform the nation’s food supply. The state legislature passed the bill in mid-September.

On average, children in the United States get nearly two-thirds of their calories from ultraprocessed foods packed full of additives and high-calorie sugars, salt and fat, according to a recent CD