Pupil nutrition: restricted school foods and ultraprocessed foods of concern: prohibition.

The 'particularly harmful ultraprocessed food' category is eliminated throughout the bill. Only 'restricted school foods' and 'ultraprocessed foods of concern' remain as prohibited categories in schools.

Regulatory authority for defining restricted school foods and ultraprocessed foods of concern shifts from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to the State Department of Public Health (CDPH).

The bill no longer defines 'ultraprocessed food' for general purposes under the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law. The definition now applies only to school-related purposes.

The legislative intent language about prioritizing 'California-grown products' is replaced with broader language about prioritizing 'agricultural and whole food products' in school meals.

The deadline for CDPH to adopt regulations defining the food categories moves from July 1, 2026 to June 1, 2028. Schools must begin phasing out restricted foods by July 1, 2029 (previously January 1, 2028). The vendor prohibition takes effect July 1, 2032 (previously January 1, 2032).

Vendor reporting to the state begins February 1, 2028 (previously February 1, 2027), and the state's annual report to the Legislature moves from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2028.

The requirement for a petitioning process allowing food or ingredient exemptions from the 'particularly harmful ultraprocessed food' designation (with a fee not exceeding reasonable administrative costs) is removed entirely.

New code sections are relocated from Division 104 (Food and Drug Law), Chapter 5, Part 5, to Division 103 (Public Health), Chapter 2, Part 3, starting at Section 104660. Sections 104665 and 104665.05 are repealed in place of the previously referenced sections 110658 and 110658.5.

Language indicating that a violation of the provisions would be a crime is removed from the enrolled version's digest.

OEHHA must adopt regulations by January 1, 2028, establishing a petitioning process that allows a food or ingredient to be exempted from the 'particularly harmful ultraprocessed food' designation. The process must include a petitioning fee not to exceed the office's reasonable administrative costs.

The elementary school prohibition on particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods (effective July 1, 2035) was narrowed from covering all 'competitive foods' to specifically covering 'federal National School Lunch Program and federal School Breakfast Program entrees food and competitive entrees sold by any entity,' with an exclusion for USDA Foods in Schools program items. This aligns the elementary school provision with the existing middle and high school language.

Two new Senate coauthors were added: Senators Perez and Valladares.

The digest now clarifies that 'ultraprocessed food' is defined for two separate purposes: general purposes of the Sherman Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law, and separately for certain school-related purposes. The school-related definition triggers the OEHHA regulatory requirement for 'particularly harmful ultraprocessed food.'

The agency responsible for adopting regulations defining harmful food categories changed from the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to the State Department of Public Health.

The bill was given the short title 'Real Food, Healthy Kids Act' in a new Section 1, shifting all subsequent section numbers by one.

The legislative intent section was expanded to include 'the inclusion of agricultural and whole food products in school meals' as an additional goal beyond prioritizing California-grown products.

Two new food categories were introduced: 'restricted school foods' and 'ultraprocessed foods of concern,' both defined pursuant to Section 104662 of the Health and Safety Code. These operate alongside the existing 'particularly harmful ultraprocessed food' category throughout the bill.

Health and Safety Code sections were renumbered from the 110656-110658.5 range to the 104660-104665.05 range, with corresponding changes to Division (104 to 103) and Part (5 to 3) references.

Multiple key deadlines were pushed back: regulation adoption deadline moved from July 1, 2026 to June 1, 2028; school phase-out date moved from January 1, 2028 to July 1, 2029; vendor prohibition date moved from January 1, 2032 to July 1, 2032; vendor reporting deadline moved from February 1, 2027 to February 1, 2028; and legislative report deadline moved from July 1, 2027 to July 1, 2028.

The State Department of Public Health is now required to establish a structure to deliver training and technical assistance to local educational agencies, and to consult with the State Department of Education regarding compliance training for school food service and procurement staff.

A new mandate reimbursement paragraph was added stating that if the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill contains state-mandated costs, reimbursement shall be made pursuant to existing statutory provisions.

Header changed from enrolled bill format (with Assembly/Senate passage dates and Governor receipt date) to chaptered law format with 'STATE OF CALIFORNIA AUTHENTICATED ELECTRONIC LEGAL MATERIAL' and 'CHAPTER 467' designation, plus the Governor's approval date of October 8, 2025.

Page headers changed from 'AB 1264' to 'Ch. 467' throughout the document.

Line breaks and indentation were reflowed throughout the legislative counsel's digest and statutory text, but no words or provisions were added, removed, or altered.

New subdivision (b) added to Section 1 stating it is the Legislature's intent to prioritize California-grown products in school meals, described as among the healthiest and most nutritious available, meeting the highest standards for quality, safety, and sustainability.

The reimbursement provision was restructured. The old version simply stated 'no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.' The new version distinguishes between 'certain mandates' (no reimbursement required) and 'any other mandates' (reimbursement shall be made if the Commission on State Mandates determines the bill contains costs mandated by the state).

Changed 'part skim mozzarella cheese' to 'part skim part-skim mozzarella cheese' in multiple exemption clauses within Sections 49431 and 49431.2, clarifying that both terms are covered.

Removed a duplicate coauthor listing for Senator Weber Pierson that appeared on a separate line; the senator remains listed in the combined 'Coauthors: Senators Allen, Weber Pierson, and Wiener' line.

Removed the word 'either' from the beverage prohibition language in Section 49431.5, changing 'A beverage shall not contain either any of the following' to 'A beverage shall not contain any of the following' to fix a grammatical error.

The bill now amends Education Code sections 49431, 49431.2, 49431.5, 49501.5, and 49531 to directly regulate competitive foods, beverages, and school meals at elementary, middle, and high schools, rather than relying solely on the Health and Safety Code framework.

Additional coauthors were added, including Assembly Members Addis, Chen, Connolly, Hadwick, Hoover, Kalra, Lowenthal, Patterson, Petrie-Norris, and Valencia, as well as Senators Allen and Wiener, reflecting broader legislative support.

Beginning December 31, 2027, competitive foods, beverages, and nutritionally adequate breakfasts and lunches (excluding USDA Foods in Schools program items) are prohibited from containing six artificial food dyes: Blue 1, Blue 2, Green 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, and Yellow 6.

Beginning July 1, 2035, competitive foods, beverages, and nutritionally adequate breakfasts and lunches are prohibited from including particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods as defined by OEHHA regulations under Health and Safety Code Section 109991.

The bill now repeals Health and Safety Code Sections 110658 and 110658.5, which had required vendors to annually report detailed product information (quantity, ingredients, nutrition facts, price) to OEHHA and required OEHHA to submit annual reports to the Legislature and Governor.

The fiscal committee vote changed from 'no' to 'yes,' indicating the bill now has a fiscal impact requiring fiscal committee approval. The state-mandated local program designation also changed from 'no' to 'yes.'

Reimbursement language was made more nuanced: no reimbursement is required for mandates related to creating or changing crimes, but for any other state-mandated costs, if the Commission on State Mandates determines costs are mandated by the state, reimbursement shall be provided.

Section 2 (elementary school competitive foods), subdivision (a)(8): The July 1, 2035 ban on particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods was expanded from applying only to 'competitive foods' to also apply to 'federal National School Lunch Program and federal School Breakfast Program entrees and competitive foods entrees sold by any entity,' with a new exclusion for foods provided by the USDA Foods in Schools program. This means schools can no longer serve particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods as part of their federally reimbursed meals at elementary schools, not just as snacks or competitive items.

Senator Padilla was added to the list of Senate coauthors (now Allen, Padilla, Weber Pierson, and Wiener).

Added a definition of 'ultraprocessed food' (Section 110028) based on whether a food contains substances with specific FDA-defined technical effects such as surface-active agents, stabilizers, thickeners, colorants, emulsifiers, flavoring agents, flavor enhancers, surface-finishing agents, and non-nutritive sweeteners. Spices and natural seasonings are excluded.

Added a definition of 'particularly harmful ultraprocessed food' (Section 109991) requiring OEHHA to adopt regulations by July 1, 2026, considering factors including whether substances are banned or restricted elsewhere, require warning labels, are linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, developmental issues, reproductive harm, obesity, or type 2 diabetes, may be hyperpalatable or contribute to food addiction, and whether the food is modified to be high in fat, sugar, or salt. The definition must be updated every two years.

Schools must begin phasing out particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods no later than January 1, 2028 (Section 110657).

Starting February 1, 2027, and annually thereafter, food vendors must report to OEHHA detailed information about each food product sold to schools, including quantity, name, whether it is ultraprocessed or particularly harmful, GTIN, food category, average calories, average price, ingredient list, and nutritional facts (Section 110658).

Beginning January 1, 2032, vendors are prohibited from offering particularly harmful ultraprocessed foods to schools (Section 110657).

Vendor reporting requirements do not apply to cottage food operations registered under Section 114365, microenterprise home kitchens defined in Section 113825, or small businesses as defined in Government Code Section 14837.

OEHHA must submit an annual report to the Legislature and Governor by July 1, 2027, containing analysis of vendor-reported data, progress on the phaseout, estimates of ultraprocessed food consumption in schools, a reduction strategy, feasibility analysis, and recommendations for legislative action (Section 110658.5).

Added a savings clause (Section 110659) allowing public entities to voluntarily enact more stringent restrictions on ultraprocessed foods beyond what the state requires.

The bill's scope expanded from a symbolic statement of legislative intent to an operative regulatory framework with specific compliance dates, reporting obligations, and enforcement mechanisms under the Health and Safety Code.

The fiscal committee designation changed from 'no' to 'yes' and the state-mandated local program designation changed from 'no' to 'yes,' reflecting that the bill now creates a new crime or infraction with associated costs. The bill states no reimbursement is required because the only costs arise from creating a new crime or changing a penalty.