California Proposition 65 is a unique regulation that brings separate compliance requirements from all other regulations in the US (or abroad) and is enforced through civil litigation (via issuance of a Notice of Violation, or “NOV”). A single violation can cost a company upwards of $50,000 or more. At the beginning of each month, we take a quick look at an enforcement summary for the previous month to highlight the types of products being targeted, how frequently, and any new trends in enforcement action that may have appeared.
Hopefully these posts will raise a flag for any company selling these types of products into California so they can take a careful look at their products and get ahead of any potential enforcement!
– Slight drop in NOV vs. November (344 vs. 395).
– Heavy metals in food and supplement products continue to be heavily targeted.
– Service stations were again frequently targeted for unleaded gasoline exposure.
– Surprisingly, phthalate-related NOVs have dropped in numbers for a 3rd straight month.
For the year, 2023 had 4,138 NOV were issued, which is almost one thousand more than in 2022 (3170) and 2021 (3185). The higher uptick appears to be related to the slew of NOV issued for unleaded gasoline (676 vs. only 7 in 2022), as well as lead (1888 in 2023 vs. 1491 in 2022), and a small part due to hexavalent chromium (80 in 2023 vs. only 18 in 2022). Although titanium dioxide saw a large uptick in the spring of 2023 (203 overall), it is a comparatively similar amount to 2022 (197).
RegTox helps companies address Prop 65 compliance and avoid enforcement – do not hesitate to reach out with any questions!
