USA - California Requires Warning Labels for New Chemical Hazards
Under California law, Proposition 65 requires products containing a listed chemical in excess of the regulatory threshold to display a warning label indicating the presence of a known carcinogen or toxin.
California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) recently added new chemicals to the list following a review of the scientific data and related information.
Ethylene glycol and glyphosate were the chemical hazards most recently added to California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity and/or cancer.
Ethylene glycol, a chemical substance commonly used in food packaging and industrial fluids, was listed on California’s Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer on April 4, 2017. California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) established a Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) of 8,700 oral micrograms per day of ingested ethylene glycol. The new labeling requirement will take effect on July 1, 2017.
Glyphosate (CAS No. 1071-83-6) was added to the Proposition 65 list on March 28, 2017. The OEHHA agency plans to establish a safe harbor level (No Significant Risk Level or NSRL) for glyphosate of 1100 microorganisms per day. Monsanto, the manufacturer of the herbicide, filed a legal challenge against the state’s Prop 65 decision, but a Superior Court judge determined the OEHHA proposal was justified by law. The Prop 65 listing of glyphosate could fuel consumer lawsuits against food products labeled as “natural” but containing the chemical, glyphosate.
Sources: California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA)