Food Industry Objects to Prop. 65 Listing of Methanol

The Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and individual food companies have reportedly asked California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) to delay taking action on its proposal to list methanol as a reproductive toxicant. While the chemical is used in varnishes, shellacs, paints, antifreeze, adhesives, and deicers, it also apparently occurs naturally in fresh fruits and vegetables, fruit juices, fermented beverages, and diet soft drinks. OEHHA has extended the deadline for comments on the listing proposal until March 4, 2009, in response to GMA’s request.

According to an industry spokesperson, “The concern of the grocery manufacturers is that once a chemical is listed under Prop. 65, anyone who can detect it can file a claim, and many millions of dollars can be spent demonstrating that there’s no harm. So we thought it important for the agency to think about the consequences of a list, and whether . . . it’s appropriate to proceed, given those consequences, and what the alternatives are.” OEHHA is apparently basing its proposed listing on rodent studies conducted by the National Toxicology Program, considered an “authoritative body” under California’s Prop. 65 regulations. See Inside EPA, February 6, 2009.