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!
California Proposition 65 Enforcement for May 2025:
- NOV count was comparable to April (364 vs. 344),
- PFOA/PFOS continues to be found in clothes (jackets), but also a few food items.
- Heavy metals are targeted in a range of products (although only 150 new NOV), while phthalate NOVs remain comparatively low.
- Another slew of retailers were targeted for the alleged presence of BPS in thermal receipt paper – with no SHL published, this makes it very hard for retailers to defend against.
