California’s condiment law, Assembly Bill 1276, has been in effect since January 1, 2022, and it bars food businesses from handing out single-use condiment packets, utensils, straws, and similar disposable items unless the customer asks for them. The rule covers nearly every food facility in the state and nearly every disposable eating accessory, not just plastic straws.
What the Law Covers
AB 1276 splits the covered items into two groups. Both follow the same request-only rule.
Single-use foodware accessories include forks, knives, spoons, sporks, chopsticks, condiment cups and packets, straws, stirrers, splash sticks, and cocktail sticks.
Standard condiments are the single-serving sauces, seasonings, and sweeteners typically added after cooking: ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, soy sauce, hot sauce, salsa, salt, pepper, sugar, and sugar substitutes.1California Department of Public Health. Assembly Bill 1276 Fact Sheet
How the Request-Only Rule Works
A food facility cannot provide any of these items unless the customer asks. No dropping a fork into every to-go bag, no tucking in a handful of ketchup packets by default.2California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42271
The law also blocks a common workaround. Businesses can’t bundle utensils, napkins, and condiments together in packaging that forces a customer to take items they didn’t want in order to get the one they did. Each accessory type has to be available separately.2California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42271
Drive-Throughs and Airports
Drive-throughs get a narrow carve-out. Staff can ask a drive-through customer whether they want a utensil, but only when the utensil is genuinely necessary to eat the food or prevent a spill during transport. The exception doesn’t extend to proactively offering condiment packets or straws.2California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42271
Food facilities located entirely inside a public-use airport can ask walk-through travelers if they want a single-use accessory, on the reasoning that airport passengers often eat on the move.2California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42271
Delivery Apps
Third-party delivery platforms aren’t exempt. Any platform has to give customers the option to request accessories during ordering, and a restaurant on the platform must list its available accessories and condiments on the menu. Only what the customer actually selects goes in the delivery.1California Department of Public Health. Assembly Bill 1276 Fact Sheet
The practical default on a delivery order is nothing. The customer opts in.
Who Is Exempt
Three types of facilities sit outside the law entirely:
- Licensed healthcare facilities, such as hospitals and clinics
- Residential care facilities, including assisted living and group homes
- Public and private school cafeterias
Each of these settings serves populations where requiring individual requests for every fork or condiment packet would be impractical or could interfere with care.1California Department of Public Health. Assembly Bill 1276 Fact Sheet
If your food business doesn’t fall into one of those three categories, the request-only rule applies.
Penalties and Enforcement
Cities and counties were required to designate a local enforcement agency by June 1, 2022. That local agency monitors compliance and issues penalties.3California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42272
The escalation is gentle. A first violation gets a notice only. A second violation gets another notice, still no fine. A third or later violation is an infraction carrying a $25 fine per day of noncompliance, capped at $300 per calendar year.3California Legislative Information. California Code PRC 42272
The two-warning runway means a business that slips once or twice pays nothing. Only persistent noncompliance triggers fines, and the annual cap keeps the exposure modest.
Plastic Straws and Disability Access
AB 1276 doesn’t ban plastic straws. It only requires customers to ask for them. A person with a disability who needs a flexible plastic straw to drink safely can still request and receive one, which keeps the law clear of the conflict a full ban can raise with federal requirements to provide auxiliary aids under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
What’s Coming Next
AB 1276 is one piece of a larger shift. The Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act, SB 54, signed in 2022, sets targets that reach well beyond request-only:
- By 2032, 100% of single-use packaging and plastic food service ware sold in California must be recyclable or compostable
- By 2032, 65% of single-use plastic packaging and food service ware must actually be recycled
- By 2032, a 25% reduction in single-use plastic packaging and food service ware compared to 2023 levels
Producers funding the transition pay $500 million per year starting in 2027, totaling $5 billion over the decade.4CalRecycle. SB 54 Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act
For a food business already adjusting inventory under AB 1276, the compostable and recyclable alternatives being tested now will eventually become mandatory across all single-use foodware, whether or not the customer asks.