California Officials Are Looking to Ban Ultra-Processed Foods From Schools — and It’s Getting Bipartisan Support

California legislators have taken one more major step toward ensuring that the food provided to public school students is as healthy as possible.

In March, Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino) introduced a bill (Assembly Bill 1264) that could require the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to define “ultra-processed foods,” identify the harmful ones, and phase them out of being served to California public school students by 2032. The bill is co-sponsored by Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group.

“The typical diet for most kids is made up of far too much ultra-processed food that can put their health at risk,” Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, shared in a statement provided to Food & Wine. “Our schools can play an important role in ensuring kids have healthier food options instead of contributing to unhealthy eating habits.”

The critical part here is identifying “harmful” ultra-processed foods. As Food & Wine previously reported, the term often gets maligned and associated with the worst of the worst offenders. However, it can also encompass minimally processed ingredients, processed foods, or ultra-processed foods, including items like yogurt, bread, and even frozen vegetables, as they are technically processed in a facility before reaching you. This is why distinguishing the worst offenders is the first step in this bill’s journey. 

As Consumer Reports noted in its statement, there is significant scientific data pointing to the profound negative effects on people who consume ultra-processed foods. According to a 2021 study published in JAMA, that includes everything from an increased risk of obesity, high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, heart disease, and cancer. However, it’s particularly pertinent for children, as the study noted, an estimated 67% of children’s daily calories come from ultra-processed foods. 

“Assemblymember Gabriel’s landmark bill will protect children and establish an important new standard for the rest of the country by getting harmful ultra-processed food out of our schools,” Ronholm added.

The bill also makes it easy for OEHHA to do its job. It already defines ultra-processed foods as “those that contain one or more certain functional ingredients, including colors, flavors, sweeteners, emulsifiers, and thickening agents.”

OEHHA would be required to identify ultra-processed foods deemed particularly harmful based on peer-reviewed scientific evidence, including whether those substances are linked to an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, developmental or reproductive harm, obesity, or Type 2 diabetes. The bill also states that OEHHA would need to determine if a substance is hyper-palatable or may contribute to food addiction, and whether it has been modified to be high in fat, sugar, and salt.

“They will look at things like, does it include ingredients that have been banned in other countries? Does it include ingredients that are linked to food addiction? Are these ingredients linked to cancer,” Gabriel told ABC News 7. “What we feed our kids and whether or not there are chemicals in those foods can make a big difference on their health and wellness.”

This isn’t Gabriel’s first go-around with food bills, either. He also authored the California School Food Safety Act, which banned six harmful dyes in food served in the state’s public schools, and the California Food Safety Act, which banned four chemicals from candy, cereal, soda, and other processed food sold in the state. 

Gabriel is also aware that this bill aligns with the Trump administration’s goals of making “America Healthy Again.” Though as he shared with ABC News 7, California was doing that first. 

“I think California has been at the forefront of this before anybody knew what make America healthy was again or had ever heard of it,” he said. “We’ve seen action at the federal level, the FDA, the Food and Drug Administration stepping up to ban two of those chemicals following California’s lead.” 

Still, it appears to be a topic everyone can agree on and has plenty of bipartisan support, especially since feeding our children healthy food is “common sense.” As Gabriel noted in a press conference, “This proposal is based on the common-sense premise that our public schools should not be serving students ultra-processed food products that can harm their physical or mental health or interfere with their ability to learn.”