UPC Submissions

Temporary APL Expansion

In response to the state's ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) state of emergency, the California Department of Public Health/Women, Infants, and Children Division (CDPH/WIC) is requesting Universal Product Codes (UPCs) for temporary inclusion in the California WIC Authorized Product List (APL). Please note that submitting new product UPCs for CDPH/WIC’s consideration does not mean that your UPCs will be added to the APL.

At this time, CDPH/WIC is implementing an APL expansion to include any product that meets the requirements in the Temporary WIC Authorized Food List.   At the end of the temporary APL expansion period, products that do not meet the authorization criteria listed in WIC Bulletin Regulations sections 82050-83000, will be removed from the APL and will no longer be authorized for purchase by CDPH/WIC participants. 

Please submit your product UPCs, following the instructions detailed below.

Before You Submit

1. Verify product meets requirements listed in federal WIC regulations

2. Review USDA's Information for Food Manufacturers

3. Review the APL to verify the submission will not be a duplicate

4. Please note, WIC does not accept UPC submissions for fresh fruits and vegetables. WIC authorized vendors must map these products by UPC to a Price Look-Up (PLU) code.

How to Submit

WIC staff will review UPC submissions before adding them to the APL. All products in the APL must meet federal WIC authorization requirements.

Most foods may be submitted using the online forms linked below.

For food categories with no link or for submissions of 25 products or more, download and use the Bulk UPC Submission Form (Excel) to submit via SFTP . Once completed, submit the form and pictures for each product via SFTP following the instructions on the second sheet of the submission form. 

After You Submit

If a product is submitted by a food manufacturer's employee or agent, the manufacturer must notify WIC in writing of all product changes and the effective date of the changes.

Examples of product changes include, but are not limited to, changes in container size, ingredients, product name, or discontinuance of a product.

Submit notification of these changes to WICfoods@cdph.ca.gov.