Official | Walmart, Costco, and Target Say Goodbye to Store Shelves and Will Change All Their Products Starting in July by Government Order

Walmart, Costco, and Target will have to modify the labels on their food products in the state of California starting on July 1, when a new law takes effect that forbids the “sell by” label and requires standardized quality or safety terms. The measure applies to all packaged foods sold in the state.

The rule is state law AB 660, promoted by legislator Jacqui Irwin and signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in September 2024. California thus becomes the first state in the country to eliminate “sell by” dates from packaging, according to the state Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).

Solution.The Coffee and Baking Soda Hack: Why Experts Recommend Mixing These Two Household Ingredients

abre en nueva pestaña

What changes on Walmart, Costco, and Target labels?

Until now, products could display more than 50 different phrases to indicate dates, which created confusion about whether a food was still fit to eat. AB 660 eliminates that spread and requires labels to use a single wording on all packaged products sold in California.

The law distinguishes two types of dates, according to the CDFA. Consumers will see one of these options on the package:

• Quality date: “Best if used by” or “Best if used or frozen by,” which indicate the moment of peak freshness, but not that the food is no longer safe.
• Safety date: “Use by” or “Use or freeze by,” which indicate when the product is no longer safe to consume.

The “sell by” label, intended for store stock rotation, is banned on packages visible to the customer. Stores may continue using it only in coded form that is unreadable to consumers.

How does this affect consumers, and what should they keep in mind?

The change seeks to reduce food waste: according to Californians Against Waste, about 20% of avoidable wasted food comes from confusion over dates. About 2.5 billion good meals are discarded every year, according to the state recycling agency (CalRecycle).

For readers, label reading will be simpler starting in July: “best if used by” will indicate freshness and “use by” will indicate safety. The law applies to products manufactured from July 1, 2026, so older stock may still be sold with its old label for a while. Infant formula and eggs are exempt.