California Assembly Bill 2779 (“A.B. 2779”), a companion bill to California Assembly Bill 660 (“A.B. 660”), was signed into law last week.1 A.B. 2779 clarifies that dietary supplements are not subject to California’s uniform “best if used by” and “use by” date food labeling requirements set forth in A.B. 660.2 A more in-depth summary of A.B. 660 requirements can be found here.
What Clarifications on A.B. 660 Are Included in A.B. 2779?
A.B. 2779 amends Section 82001 of the California Food and Agricultural Code. In large part, A.B. 2779 restates A.B. 660’s mandate that “[o]n and after July 1, 2026, a food manufacturer, processor, or retailer responsible for the labeling of food items for human consumption that chooses, or is otherwise required by law, to display a date label to communicate a quality or safety date on a food item manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, shall use one of the following uniform terms” on the date label:3
- “Best if Used by” or “Best if Used or Frozen by” to indicate the quality date of the food item.
- “Use by” or “Use by or Freeze by” to indicate the safety date of the food item.
- “BB” to indicate the quality date of the food item if the food item is too small to include the uniform term or if the food item is a beverage.
- “UB” to indicate the safety date of the food item if the food item is too small to include the uniform term.
Like A.B. 660, A.B. 2779 prohibits a person from selling or offering for sale in California a “food item for human consumption” manufactured on or after July 1, 2026, if the item displays a quality or safety date without one of the uniform terms, or a “sell by” date presented in a coded format that consumers can easily read.4
However, while A.B. 660 expressly states that the date labeling requirements do not apply to infant formula, eggs or pasteurized in-shell eggs, and beer and other malt beverages, A.B. 2779 goes a step further by also exempting dietary supplements from the date labeling requirements.5 Specifically, A.B. 2779 expressly excludes dietary supplements from the definition of a “food item for human consumption,” which places dietary supplements outside the scope of A.B. 660.6 Such clarity resolves the industry’s lingering questions regarding A.B. 660’s applicability to dietary supplements and the need to update its current date labeling practices.
When Does A.B. 2779 Go Into Effect?
A.B. 2779 contains an urgency clause, which states the bill is effective immediately upon enactment.7 As such, the bill took effect on Sept. 18, 2026.
1 A.B. 2779, Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2026).
2 A.B. 2779, Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2026) (citing A.B. 660, Reg. Sess. (Cal. 2024)).
3 California Food and Agricultural Code § 82001(a), as amended.
4 California Food and Agricultural Code § 82001(b), as amended.
5 California Food and Agricultural Code § 82001(f)(1), as amended.
6 California Food and Agricultural Code § 82001, as amended.
7 A.B. 2779, Reg. Sess. § 2 (Cal. 2026).
