“WARNING: Consuming this product can expose you to Lead, which is known to the State of California to cause birth defects or other reproductive harm.”
I read this alert on my package of S&B Golden Curry, a roux that makes an aromatic Japanese gravy. Though the warning didn’t exactly make me hungry for the dinner I had planned, I wasn’t sure how worried I should be.
I spoke to two experts to learn what this warning on my food means and if I should avoid that meal of katsu kare after all. Michael J. Gleason is a San Diego-based defense attorney who represents manufacturers in Proposition 65 litigation. Jimena Díaz Leiva, Ph.D., is the science director at the Center for Environmental Health, which advocates for consumers against exposure to potentially toxic chemicals.
What Is Proposition 65?
“Prop 65 is a California law that requires businesses to warn people about possible reproductive harm, birth defects or cancer risk,” explains Gleason. Though enacted in 1986, 2018 saw a number of new requirements added to the right-to-know law. That included more transparency in packaging, which covers notifying shoppers of around 900 different possible chemicals.
“Food products are labeled because some food products contain toxic chemicals, either from the manufacturing process or from the cooking process,” says Díaz Leiva. “Sometimes they’re what the state calls ‘naturally occurring chemicals,’ things like lead that might be in the soil where—for example—a sweet potato has grown.”
What if you don’t live in California? You might still see the labels on your food because many companies can’t afford to print separate packaging just for one state.
What Types of Food Are Labeled?
A lot of them, as it turns out. As Díaz Leiva mentioned, they may include anything exposed to chemicals in its growing process, so fruits, vegetables and spices are all affected. Gleason adds that the list includes products that come from the ocean and could have absorbed mercury. Pretty obvious, right? You’re probably already careful about buying fish. But some foods are less predictable.
“Another big category is foods that are roasted or toasted,” Gleason mentions. That’s because those high-temperature cooking processes (and others, including frying and baking) can produce acrylamides, which have been shown to cause cancer in animals at high dosages. According to the Food and Drug Administration, in 2010 the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization Expert Committee on Food Additives determined acrylamide to be a human health concern. That means that anything from pretzels to potato chips to bread may carry a label.
But not all products that might contain acrylamide are labeled. In 2010, the Council for Education and Research on Toxics sued a large group of coffee roasters and retailers that included big names like Starbucks and Costco. It took a decade of fighting, but in 2020, the companies involved in the lawsuit proved that the amount of acrylamide found in their coffee didn’t cause cancer.
Another prominent category is foreign-made products, like my curry roux, which is manufactured in Japan. “There’s a lot of labeling on imported ingredients from different cultures and cuisines specific to East Asian foods, Latin American foods and many spices. in particular, for trace heavy metal contamination,” says Díaz Leiva.
Not surprisingly, since there is limited oversight of supplements, everything from multivitamins to protein powder could also be labeled because of packaging that might contain forever chemicals, she adds. (“Forever chemicals” are polyfluoroalkyl substances, which are chemicals that tend to linger in the environment.)
How Concerned Should I Be?
That depends on who you ask.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all answer,” says Gleason. “Californians can’t avoid Prop 65 warnings—they’re on every gas station pump, every hotel, every amusement park in the state. People still go on with their lives and make the choice to go to a restaurant, for example. Like all food labels, they’re intended to provide information. It doesn’t ban the food or signal noncompliance with the government. Each consumer should make their own choice and if they have additional questions, they should check with the manufacturer.”
“In our day-to-day lives, we’re being exposed constantly to things in our immediate environment and in the food we eat. So it’s really dependent on who you are and what your particular concerns are,” adds Díaz Leiva.
Among other high-risk groups, pregnant or nursing mothers may want to steer clear of some products that are labeled. Similarly, baby food that’s labeled may be a no-no. But the choice is yours.
It also depends how often you partake in a particular product. As Díaz Leiva puts it, “If you’re buying a spice that has a warning on it that you use maybe once every few weeks or once a month to cook with and you’re using just the tiniest amounts, that’s not going to make a huge difference in terms of your total exposure burden.”
In the end, Proposition 65 labeling is really just about empowering the consumer and isn’t meant to alarm diners unnecessarily. What I learned is to take the labels with a grain of salt, and—of course—even that should be consumed in moderation.
