Food labeling: quality dates, safety dates, and sell-by dates.
What changed between versions
A new Section 2 declares the bill an urgency statute that takes effect immediately upon passage, rather than waiting until January 1 of the following year. The stated reason is to ensure correct implementation and minimize disruption to California's food industry before the July 1, 2026 compliance deadline.
The acceptable quality-date labels now include both 'BEST if Used by' / 'BEST if Used or Frozen by' AND 'Best if Used by' / 'Best if Used or Frozen by.' Similarly, acceptable safety-date labels now include both 'USE by' / 'USE by or Freeze by' AND 'Use by' / 'Use by or Freeze by.' This removes the requirement that these phrases appear in all capital letters.
The required vote threshold changed from a simple majority to a two-thirds majority in each house, which is the constitutional requirement for passing an urgency statute.