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

(CNN) — California made history Wednesday by enacting the first law in the United States to define and ultimately ban unhealthy ultraprocessed foods, or UPFs, from what’s projected to be over 1 billion meals served to California schoolchildren in the 2025-26 school year.

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 CDC report.

Not only does the California legislation define ultraprocessed food — a task which most of the world ha