California law requires us to put this notice on our products containing any ingredient that tests over 1/1000th of what the World Health Organization terms as “safe harbor levels” of a huge list of chemicals, including naturally occurring minerals.
California's Proposition 65, or the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (“Prop 65” for short), entitles California consumers to special warnings for products that contain chemicals known to the state of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm if those products expose consumers to such chemicals above certain threshold levels.
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.
Many dietary supplements contain substances that require a warning in California. The reason is because there are more than 900 chemicals listed under California Prop 65. Among the listed chemicals is lead, which is widely distributed through the environment in air, soil, water, and rocks. As a result, these types of chemicals are often found in commonly eaten foods and throughout the food supply even though these chemicals are not added to foods or nutritional supplements. Common foods that naturally contain lead include chocolate, cocoa powder, proteins from cheese and milk, cabbage, cereal, lettuce, avocado, and many more.
Yes. Our products are manufactured and tested at the highest standards. We use the latest technology and production capabilities available at our FDA-registered production facility in the United States. We have uncompromising high standards and only use the highest quality ingredients.
It should be noted that California product label warning requirements are not usually the same as federal safety requirements. This causes a mismatch between warnings on products sold in California and what is required elsewhere in the U.S.A. So this can explain why sometimes you may see a California Prop 65 warning on a product sold in California but no warning on the same product sold elsewhere. The products are not different; it’s just that Prop 65 warnings are required for sales to California consumers. Additionally, there are various substances that require a California Prop 65 warning at levels that are far more stringent than federal action limits. One example is lead. The Prop 65 standard for warnings for lead is 0.5 micrograms per day, which is far more stringent than United States Pharmacopeia and international standards for lead.
The Prop 65 warnings are only required under California law. Prop 65 standards are among the most stringent standards in place anywhere and are often far more stringent than federal standards. Our products, for example, fall well below the lead limit set by the FDA.
There are two major reasons why you are seeing the warning now: Change in the law for e-commerce business, and lawsuits.
In August 2018, new Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) regulations took effect, requiring websites selling products that qualify for the warning to provide “clear and reasonable warnings.” This is why you may have recently seen more warnings on e-commerce sites like Amazon.
The number of lawsuits from failure to comply with Prop 65 warnings has risen significantly. In 2018, there were 829 settlements totaling more than $35 million for failure to apply the warning. The onus of putting the warning on product labels is on brands, and failure to do so can leave a company liable for fines of up to $2,500 per violation, per day, according to OEHHA.
