Long Beach, CA Public Health Rules: Calorie Labeling (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- LBMC § 8.17.030, Chapter 8.17 (2017)
- Applies to
- any Long Beach "restaurant" selling children's meals
- Default milk cap
- under 130 calories per serving
- Default juice cap
- 100% juice, under 40 calories per serving
- Water options
- plain, sparkling or flavored, no sweeteners
- Customer override
- alternate beverage always purchasable on request
- Enforcement
- administrative citation under LBMC Chapter 9.65
Summary
Chapter 8.17 caps the default beverage restaurants may bundle with a children's meal in Long Beach: water, nonfat or 1% milk or a non-dairy alternative under 130 calories per serving, or 100% juice under 40 calories per serving, per LBMC § 8.17.030. Customers can still request a soda or other drink instead, the rule only sets the automatic default.
A.A restaurant that sells a children's meal that includes a beverage shall make the default beverage offered with the children's meal one of the following:1.Water, sparkling water, or flavored water, with no artificial sweeteners or additives;2.Nonfat or one percent (1%) milk, or non-dairy milk alternative that is under one hundred thirty (130) calories per container and/or serving offered for sale; or3.One hundred percent (100%) juice, with no artificial sweeteners or additives, that is under forty (40) calories per serving.B.Nothing in this Section prohibits a restaurant's ability to sell, or a customer's ability to purchase, a substitute or alternative beverage instead of the default beverage offered with a children's meal, if requested by the purchaser of the children's meal.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Municipal Code: Supplement 52 Update 1 | City Charter: Supplement 5).
Full Breakdown
010). 020 defines "restaurant" broadly, fast-food and full-service dining, drive-through or walk-up counters, coffee shops, cafes, pizza parlors, even establishments that serve alcohol alongside food, and defines "default beverage" as whatever comes automatically with a children's meal absent a specific request. 030 then requires that default beverage to be one of three options: water, sparkling water, or flavored water with no artificial sweeteners or additives; nonfat or 1% milk or a non-dairy alternative under 130 calories per serving; or 100% juice with no artificial sweeteners under 40 calories per serving.
Subsection B preserves customer choice, a diner can still buy a different beverage if they ask for it. This is a default-beverage calorie cap, not a menu-board calorie-disclosure law. 050). 060 confirms the Chapter is meant to operate alongside, not in conflict with, state and federal law.
Violations & Fines
Noncompliance is enforced through the administrative citation process in LBMC Chapter 9.65, per § 8.17.050, rather than criminal court; restaurants remain subject to periodic inspections under Chapter 8.44 to confirm compliance, and offering a higher-calorie or artificially sweetened drink as the automatic default triggers a citation even though customers can still order it on request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does this ban soda in kids' meals?
What restaurants does the rule cover?
How is this enforced?
Why did Long Beach adopt this rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Long Beach
California rules heatmap·Compare Long Beach to another location·View the California public health rules overview
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