California bans sell-by labels on food packages starting July 1

California is forcing packaged food labels to narrow to two phrases, “best if used by” and “use by,” and Dollar General stores with food aisles will feel it in markdowns, customer questions, and shrink. Beginning July 1, consumer-facing packages made in California can no longer use older wording such as “sell by,” “freshest by,” or “expires on.”

Assembly Bill 660, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on September 28, 2024, set the rule. The California Department of Food and Agriculture set the standard to reduce food waste caused by premature disposal, while still allowing manufacturers to use coded dates for inventory tracking. Regulators can fine mislabeling, and the old language was designed to help retailers rotate stock, not to act as a hard safety cutoff for shoppers.

For Dollar General associates, the practical effect is simple: clearer labels should mean fewer arguments at the shelf about whether a box, can, or refrigerated item is still worth buying. In food-heavy discount stores, especially where staffing is thin and one person may be running register, freight, and customer service at once, a cleaner date system can save time on repetitive questions and reduce the chance that a saleable item gets tossed because the label looked ominous. It may also help managers defend markdown decisions when a customer challenges why an item stayed on the shelf or moved to clearance.

California’s move is the first mandatory state food date-label standard in the United States. The new requirements apply to food items manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, and the department, working with the California Department of Public Health and federal partners at USDA and FDA, is trying to curb waste tied to confusing labels.

USDA says more than one-third of all available food in the United States goes uneaten through loss or waste. USDA and FDA opened a joint request for information on food date labeling on December 3, 2024, then extended the comment period to March 5, 2025, to gather details on industry practices, consumer perceptions, grocery costs, and waste. Different date phrases can push shoppers to throw out wholesome food early.

A 2025 national survey by the Harvard Law School Food Law and Policy Clinic, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and ReFED found consumers were discarding food near or past the label date more often than in 2016. The Center for Science in the Public Interest said 88% of consumers reported doing that at least occasionally, while Californians Against Waste said more than 50 differently phrased date labels still appear on packaged food shelves.