Proposition 65
What is acrylamide?
Baking, frying or roasting foods can create acrylamide. Potato chips, french fries, bread, toast, pretzels, and nuts often contain acrylamide formed when they are cooked. The Food and Drug Administration have determined that these small traces of acrylamide do not present a public health risk, threat of injury, or need for warnings. Visit FDA.gov for additional information.
Why I am seeing a warning for acrylamide?
This warning is required by a California labeling law titled Proposition 65. Proposition 65 requires warnings on products that contain even tiny amounts of about 900 different substances, including acrylamide and others commonly found in food. While we don’t agree that our products require these warnings, there are many legal cases pending on this issue, and we are voluntarily providing warnings until the law is made clear.
Our take on Proposition 65
California law contains what is known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, also referred to as Proposition 65 (“Prop 65”). Prop 65 is a unique, California-only law that requires products sold in California to bear warning notices about potential exposure to any of the about 900 substances listed by the state. As a practical matter, Prop 65 warnings are required for any product (food or non-food) that exposes an individual in California to virtually any detectable amount of a listed chemical.
Prop 65 does not ban any products from sale in California; it simply requires warnings about the listed chemical contained in the product. No other state has a law similar to Proposition 65, nor does the federal Food and Drug Administration require these kinds of warnings.
Lawsuits to enforce Prop 65 against food manufacturers may be instituted by the State of California, or much more frequently by private “bounty hunters” and their attorneys who make it their job to sue companies to profit from the law.
While we don’t agree that our products require these warnings, there are many legal cases pending on this issue, and we are voluntarily providing warnings until the law is made clear.
Koeze Company takes food safety very seriously. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other health authorities have determined that small traces of acrylamide from roasting, baking or frying do not present a public health risk, threat of injury, or need for warnings. We ensure that our products comply with all applicable federal and state food safety rules.
Please consult FDA.gov for additional information on acrylamide and food safety.
