Food Producers Raise Concerns over Proposed Prop. 65 Warnings

California EPA’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) held a “pre-regulatory workshop” on September 25, 2009, to present to stakeholders its proposed warning program for exposures to Proposition 65 (Prop. 65) chemicals in foods sold at retail. According to a news source, industry representatives raised “significant” concerns over the draft proposal, which would require producers to place product-specific warning information on an internet database and retailers to access the information and select from a “menu” of options to communicate product warnings to the public.

A spokesperson for the California Grocers Association reportedly complained that, as drafted, the existing plan would be impossible to comply with. She claimed that grocery stores should be able to make binders available to shoppers containing warning summaries for different foods. The effect on small grocers is also apparently an issue, and OEHHA counsel called on stakeholders to submit comments on how “small” retailers could be defined. Food industry lobbyists have reportedly argued that the rules should be imposed on the largest grocery chains only. OEHHA has also proposed giving the public access to the web-based database and making the information searchable by product name, manufacturer, retailer, or chemical substance.

Comments on the proposal must be submitted by October 19, and the agency anticipates proposing a formal regulation in early 2010. Prop. 65 requires warnings for substances known to the state to cause cancer or reproductive harm. OEHHA has been working with stakeholders for two years to develop a retail food warning system. See Inside Cal/EPA, October 2, 2009.