A NEW law is to come into force that will change how major retailers like Walmart and Target sell food products.
From July 2026, shoppers across California will notice a subtle change to labels on common grocery items.
This is because Governor Gavin Newsom has signed a bill that will make details such as “sell by” and “best before” a thing of the past, as reported by the CW affiliate KTLA.
It has been claimed that labels such as “best before” and “sell by” are confusing to shoppers.
The bill is an attempt to clear up the confusion.
“Having to wonder whether our food is still good is an issue that we all have struggled with,” Democratic state lawmaker Jacqui Irwin said.
Irwin claimed that Americans, on average, spend around $1,300 on food that’s never eaten.
“Tossing food prematurely because of misleading date labels costs Californians billions each year,” she warned.
“In a time of rising grocery bills and food insecurity, every bit of savings helps.
“For years, Californians have grappled with the uncertainty of food date labels.”
Shoppers admitted the “best before” and “sell by” labels were a bit of a riddle.
“It’s confusing to most consumers,” Jasmine Acosta told the Associated Press.
Environmental groups such as Californians against Waste have warned how confusing labels results in shoppers throwing out items.
They claimed that Americans in the state throw away a staggering six million tons of food waste.
Research groups have welcomed the legislation that will see “Best if used by” and “Use by” labels added to items.
Dana Gunders, the president of the non-profit group ReFed that works to reduce waste, described the bill as game-changing.
California will be the first state to roll out the standardization law and there’s hope similar measures could be rolled out across the US or on a federal level.
OTHER LAWS
Bills that affect consumers have been signed into law recently.
From January 2026, plastic bags will not be on offer to shoppers across California grocery stores.
Shoppers will no longer have the choice of requesting a paper or plastic bag.
The new measure will only affect bags at the checkout; carriers that store raw produce are exempt.
California has followed states such as Maine and New York in rolling out the measure.
However, the plastic bag ban has received a mixed response among shoppers.
Some have claimed lawmakers are ignoring more pressing issues such as crime and homelessness.
“We are dealing with more bigger problems then this,” one shopper posted online.
Meanwhile, others think the bag ban will have a minimal impact on their shopping routines.