California to ban in schools some ultraprocessed foods

New state law targets meals 'of concern,' but some items will be exempt. Here's why.

- By DANIEL MILLER

AMANDA TEJADA prepares chili at the Alhambra Unified production kitchen.

(CARLIN STIEHL Los Angeles Times)

It’s a little after 9:30 a.m. on a recent weekday, and hair-netted workers at the Alhambra Unified School District's central production kitchen are boxing up the last of 350 handmade sushi rolls for the city’s three high schools.

The spicy tuna rolls, redolent of cooked fish blended with sriracha and mayonnaise, are a popular lunch offering among students.

"It’s one of our signature items that you can never take away," said Dwayne Dionne, Alhambra Unified’s culinary specialist.

Alhambra Unified has sold the sushi for about 25 years. At one point, the district switched from white to brown rice — a healthier whole grain. Yet, it’s the kind of meal that will be scrutinized under a new state law: the Real Food, Healthy Kids Act.

The law, which Gov. Gavin Newsom signed on Wednesday, provides a first-ever statutory definition of ultraprocessed foods in the U.S. and will ban some that are "of concern" in California schools starting in 2035.

Under the legislation, which is expected to touch off a major overhaul of school cafeteria meals, the state’s Department of Public Health will identify ultraprocessed foods “of concern” and “restricted school foods” — another prohibited category — by 2028. A year later, schools are required to begin phasing them out.

"There’s this really great opportunity to help a ton of people in a pretty straightforward way," said Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel (D-Encino), author of the legislation. "I'm still learning about all this.... I [was] going to the grocery store trying to do right by my kids, but had no idea that we might be feeding them things that could be harmful.