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”). 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 appear.
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!
Here is our summary for May 2022:
– A bump in overall enforcement vs. April (185),
– Acrylamide continues to be a source of (albeit minor) NOVs for food companies despite the injunction
o all issued by “Environmental Health Advocates, Inc.”: they were also involved in targeting various other NOV for heavy metals in foods and titanium dioxide in cosmetics this month;
o are they just ignoring the injunction?
– Cosmetic products: several NOV (the bezene issue was for 1 company, but 10 products listed) that companies should be aware of e.g., TiO2 in eyeshadow is entirely frivolous, but still highlights the point that companies need to pay attention to this in order to avoid issues.
– Dietary supplements had a particular increase in enforcement: 16 NOV in May (vs. 37 for January to April; which represents a 30% increase!). Supplements can be a very easy target so manufacturers definitely need to cross-check their products vs. Prop 65 limits.
– Cannabis products: due to a lack of SHL for THC/marijuana smoke, it is critical for cannabis products to have a Prop 65 warning.
The vast majority of these enforcement issues could have easily been avoided – contact me for a free consultation to learn how!
