In the News

Proposition 65 Violation Notices Sent to Companies Over Lead Content in Food

Jul 22, 2010

The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) filed violation notices on June 9, 2010 against nearly fifty companies under California's Proposition 65 law, alleging impermissible lead content in numerous foods (including baby foods), such as apple juice, grape juice, packaged pears and peaches, and fruit cocktail. Among the companies who received the violation notice are Beech-Nut, Gerber Products Co., and Trader Joe's.

Proposition 65, also known as California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, requires that chemicals known to affect reproductive health or cause cancer be specifically listed with the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. Companies are prohibited from exposing individuals to listed substances without providing a "clear and reasonable" warning. Lead is a Proposition 65 listed substance as a carcinogen and a reproductive toxin. The Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) for lead is 0.5 micrograms per serving.

ELF selected a variety of brands and manufacturers, and conducted testing on 398 samples purchased throughout the State of California. Of 146 separate products ELF tested, 125 allegedly exceeded the allowable limit of 0.5 micrograms of lead per serving, which ELF contends is a basis for requiring a warning label under Prop 65. ELF sent copies of the notices of violation to California's Attorney General and 58 counties' district attorneys. The letter threatens the recipients with a lawsuit if corrective actions have not been taken within 60 days, and the State has not commenced enforcement.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) responded to ELF's allegations, saying that trace levels of lead are unavoidable in plant-based foods, because minerals like lead are present naturally in soil and water. In its public statement on the matter, GMA stated that food and beverage companies adhere to strict standards to keep levels of naturally occurring lead at a minimum and to prevent additional lead from entering food through the manufacturing process.