California’s New Food Labeling Rules Are About to Take Effect: Food Companies Face Compliance Risks If Date Labels Are Not Updated in Time

Key takeaways

California AB 660 takes effect July 1, 2026, requiring all packaged food products sold in California to use standardized quality date and safety date labels. “Sell by” dates will be prohibited on consumer-facing packaging, with a narrow exception for coded dates used solely for inventory management purposes. Companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell packaged food products in California should act now to avoid potential penalties and litigation risk. CIRS has summarized the two key changes to California’s food date labeling rules.

New date labeling rules for packaged food

1. Mandatory use of standardized “quality date” or “safety date” labels

The law requires all packaged food products to include either a “quality date” or a “safety date” on the label. This requirement applies only to packaged food and does not extend to food prepared for immediate consumption, such as restaurant foods.

The distinction between the two types of dates is critical. A “quality date” is a date on a label that communicates to consumers the date after which the food quality may begin to deteriorate, but the food may still be acceptable for consumption. Quality dates are generally appropriate for shelf-stable products that may experience undesirable changes to freshness and taste over time but do not generally become hazardous to consume. A “safety date,” by contrast, is a date that communicates to consumers that the food should be consumed or frozen by the date listed on the package and applies to perishable products with potential safety implications over time. Safety dates are typically appropriate for products that are not shelf stable, such as frozen prepared foods and other items that could become unsafe to eat after a determinable period of time.

Depending on which type of date is appropriate, the label must use one of the following specific phrases:

• For quality dates: “BEST if Used by” or “BEST if Used or Frozen by”
• For safety dates: “USE by” or “USE by or Freeze by” 
• For packages that are too small to include these uniform terms, abbreviated versions may be used: “BB” for the quality date and “UB” for the safety date. 

2. Prohibition on “sell by” dates

AB 660 imposes a blanket prohibition on the use of “sell by” dates on the packaging of all food items. There is a narrow exception for dates that are not intended to be consumer facing and are used for inventory management purposes. Specifically, the law permits the use of dates presented in a coded format that are “not easily readable by consumers” and do not use the phrase “sell by”.

What companies should do now

With the July 1, 2026, effective date approaching, companies that manufacture, distribute, or sell packaged food products in California should conduct a thorough assessment of their product portfolios to determine which products require a quality date and which require a safety date. The correct designation depends on the nature of the product and whether it carries potential safety implications over time. This determination is essential to ensuring proper labeling. Second, companies should review all current product labels for any use of “sell by” dates or date formats that do not conform to the specific language mandated by AB 660. Any noncompliant labeling will need to be changed for all products manufactured on or after July 1, 2026. 

About CIRS Food Team

The vast majority of team members in CIRS Food Business Division have over 10 years of professional experience in food compliance, with more than 80% hold Master’s or Doctoral degrees in food-related disciplines. The CIRS toxicology expert team consists 24 Chinese Certified Toxicologists (DCST), 2 American Board Certified Toxicologists (DABT), and 2 European Registered Toxicologists (ERT). CIRS has provided one-stop food compliance services to over 1,000 domestic and international food and related enterprises. Leveraging its technical expertise, diverse resources, and global network, the CIRS Food Business Division offers global food compliance services, including but not limited to:

• Health food registration and filing in China;
• Application for “Three New Foods (new food additives, new food raw materials and new food-related products” in China;
• U.S. GRAS, NDI, and CAP notifications;
• EU Novel Food, food additives, and food enzymes applications; and
• Application for new feed ingredients and feed additives in China, the U.S., and the EU.

If you need any assistance or have any questions, please get in touch with us via service@cirs-group.com.