California Amends Short-form Warning under Proposition 65

On December 6, 2024, California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) finalized the amendments to the short-form warning under Proposition 65. The effective date for the regulation is January 1, 2025.

This regulatory action will make short-form warning more informative by requiring at least one chemical name. It also introduces a similar short-form warning for food product. New options for safe harbor warning are also provided in the amendments.

Here are the major changes under Proposition 65:

1. Consumer product exposure warnings

The amendment stipulates that the short-form warning must include at least on chemical name for being listed as carcinogen, reproductive toxicant, or both under Proposition 65. This additional information should be presented as follows:

Exposure endpoints	Required information
For exposure to listed carcinogens	"Cancer risk from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.";or "Can expose you to [name of chemical], a carcinogen. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."
For exposures to listed reproductive toxicants	"Risk of reproductive harm from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.";or "Can expose you to [name of chemical], a reproductive toxicant. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."
For exposures to both listed carcinogens and reproductive toxicants	"Risk of cancer from exposure to [name of chemical] and reproductive harm from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."; or "Can expose you to [name of chemical], a carcinogen, and [name of chemical], a reproductive toxicant. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."
For exposures to a chemical that is listed as both a carcinogen and a reproductive toxicant	"Risk of cancer and reproductive harm from exposure to [name of chemical]. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."; or "Can expose you to [name of chemical], a carcinogen and reproductive toxicant. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov."

The short-form warning should be updated starting from January 1, 2028. The existing short-form warning can continue to be used during this 3-year transitional period.

Additionally, the signal word "CA WARNING" or "CALIFORNIA WARNING" are added as options for businesses to use for both long-form and short-form warnings, in addition to the existing signal word "WARNING".

The online retail sellers are also given a 60-day grace period to display the updated short-form warning online after receiving a warning or a written notice before January 1, 2028.

2. Food exposure warnings

The short-form warning is now allowed to be used in food, including dietary supplements. The content for short-form warning is the same with consumer products.

3. Tailored exposure warnings

The amendment also introduces new tailored exposure warnings for the following specific product categories:

passenger or off-highway motor vehicle parts
recreational marine vessel parts

To comply with the new requirements for short-form warnings, it is advised for companies to check if their products contain any chemical listed under the Proposition 65 List.

The Final Regulatory Text can be accessed here.