California has amended its standardized food date-labeling law to expressly exempt dietary supplements. The underlying law, which applies to covered food items manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, generally requires quality dates and safety dates used on food labels to use specified uniform terms. The exemption for dietary supplements was approved by the governor on September 18, 2026, as an urgency statute, so the clarification took effect immediately.
California adopted the standardized date-labeling framework through AB 660 in 2024, now codified at California Food and Agricultural Code section 82001. The law does not independently require every food product to bear a date label. Instead, when a manufacturer, processor, or retailer chooses, or is otherwise required, to display a quality or safety date on a covered food item, it prescribes the terminology that must be used. Specifically, quality dates must use "BEST if Used by," "BEST if Used or Frozen by," "Best if Used by," or "Best if Used or Frozen by," and safety dates must use "USE by," "USE by or Freeze by," "Use by," or "Use by or Freeze by." The statute also permits "BB" or "UB" in specified circumstances for items too small to display the full term and permits beverages to use "BB" for a quality date. The law generally prohibits selling or offering for sale in California a covered food bearing the phrase "sell by," while permitting sell-by dates presented in a coded format that is not easily readable by consumers and does not use the phrase "sell by."
Before AB 2779, section 82001 applied broadly to a "food item for human consumption" but did not expressly address dietary supplements. That omission created uncertainty because California's broader food and drug laws regulate dietary supplement labeling, while the standardized date-labeling framework was principally intended to help consumers distinguish food quality dates from food safety dates and reduce unnecessary food waste. Legislative analyses repeatedly stated that dietary supplements were not intended to fall within the scope of AB 660 and explained that supplement dating commonly communicates shelf life and ingredient potency instead of freshness or spoilage.
AB 2779 resolved that uncertainty by amending section 82001 to provide that a "food item for human consumption" does not include a dietary supplement as defined in 21 U.S.C. § 321(ff). The urgency clause was added during Senate consideration, and the enacted law states that immediate effectiveness was necessary to ensure correct implementation of the statute and minimize disruption to California's food industry. Without the amendment, applying AB 660 to dietary supplements could require California-specific packaging, separate production runs, inventory segregation, and additional distribution controls for products sold nationally. Under Article IV, section 8 of the California Constitution, an urgency statute is one necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety. The legislation must include a statement of the facts supporting that necessity and receive two-thirds approval in each legislative chamber. Because the standardized date-labeling requirements had already begun applying to covered products manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, the urgency clause made the supplement exemption effective immediately rather than waiting until January 1, 2027, when AB 2779 otherwise would have taken effect under the ordinary rule.
We frequently counsel clients on dietary supplement labeling issues, including dating intended to communicate shelf life or ingredient potency and the testing used to substantiate those dates. Our FDA team stands ready to assist with related legal questions.