Association\California SUPPORTS AB 1264 (Gabriel) Phasing Out Particularly Harmful Ultra-Processed Foods from Schools

AB_1264_Asm_Envi_Com_Support_Apr2025.pdf

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Apr 17, 2025

The Honorable Damon Connelly

Chair, Assembly Committee on Environment Safety and Toxic Materials

1020 N Str., Suite 171

Sacramento, CA 95814

RE: AB 1264 (Gabriel) Phasing Out Particularly Harmful Ultra-Processed Foods from Schools- SUPPORT

Dear Chair Connelly, 

On behalf of the American Nurses Association\California (ANA\C), we are proud to support AB  1264 (Gabriel). ANA\C is a bi-partisan professional nursing organization representing the  interests of more than 500,000 licensed registered nurses in California. Our mission is to  optimize nursing contribution to the health and well-being of individuals, families, and communities. As a state-level professional advocacy organization, ANA\C has been extensively  involved in legislative efforts supporting many bills that became California’s laws and are  currently assisting in making California a place of Nursing Excellence. 

AB 1264 (Gabriel) would protect children’s health by phasing out particularly harmful ultra processed foods (UPFs) from school meals. UPFs are not just highly manufactured - they are  deliberately engineered to be hyper-palatable. Packed with industrial additives, these products  are designed to override the body’s natural hunger cues and encourage overconsumption.  Unlike whole or minimally processed foods, UPFs offer little nutritional value while contributing to chronic health conditions including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and Type 2 diabetes. 

By directing the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to identify those  UPFs posing the greatest health risk to school-aged children, AB 1264 (Gabriel) enlists California’s  state scientists to identify which additives and combinations of additives pose the greatest risk to  their health. California has already set the gold standard for food safety and school nutrition when the CA Legislature enacted AB 418 (Gabriel) and AB 2316 (Gabriel). AB 1264 would build  on that foundation, giving our state another opportunity to make California’s children’s health our top priority. For these reasons, ANA\C supports AB 1264 (Gabriel) and thanks Asm. Gabriel for his continued leadership on this health issue.  

Respectfully,  

Dr. Marketa Houskova, DNP, MAIA, BA, RN  

Chief Executive Officer