The U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued a revised consumer alert on Cannabidiol (CBD), warning that the agency is aware that some companies are marketing CBD products in ways that violate the federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act), and that may put the health and safety of consumers at risk. The FDA also sent a new round of warning letters to 15 companies in an effort to crack down on illegal selling practices.…

A brief internet search shows that unambiguously, industry, regulators, and NGOs all agree that furniture tip-over is a priority in the consumer markets sector. However, there is little agreement on the best approach. Over the last year alone, we have seen the U.S. Consumer Product Commission announce that the Commission deems “clothing storage units” that do not meet ASTM F2057-17 as posing a “substantial product hazard” (presumably requiring a Section 15(b) report and perhaps recall). ASTM F2057-17 requires tip-over testing and permanent…

Editor’s Note: Not much has changed since our original post regarding civil penalties. Unfortunately, Prop 65 enforcers are still out attempting to collect vast amounts of civil penalties (and attorney’s fees) in private enforcement actions. The obvious concern for many companies facing potential exposure for a Prop 65 violation is what is this going to cost me? The short answer: a lot. The potential for high civil penalties is daunting to many companies, a fact…

Editor’s Note: On August 30, 2018, OEHHA’s amendments to the Proposition 65 clear and reasonable warning regulations became effective. The amendments bring two major changes: the first ever allocation of responsibility for warnings, which places the primary responsibility on upstream entities rather than retailers; and significant changes to the “safe harbor” warning regulation, including warning content and methods of transmission. This post focuses on the content of the warning itself; a detailed discussion of supplier and retailer responsibility can…

Editor’s Note: The way that chemicals get added to the list has not changed; however, the list of Prop 65 chemicals has. Here are some recently added chemicals that may be found in consumer products: Aloe Vera (non-decolorized whole leaf extract) Goldenseal root powder Malathion beta-Myrcene Nickel (soluble compounds) Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) Styrene TBBPA (tetrabromobisphenol A) Tetrachlorvinphos, and Vinylidene chloride (1, 1-Dichloroethylene). With the exception of PCBTF (added on…

In what can only be described as a shocking turn of events, CPSC Commissioner Robert Adler (Dem.) has been elected Vice-Chair of the Commission. This means he will become the Acting Chairman of the Commission when current Acting Chairman Ann Marie Buerkle steps down at the end of September. Since Buerkle announced she was withdrawing her nomination to be Chairman and would leave the CPSC at the end of her term this year, many assumed that Commissioner…

Editor’s Note: This post has been updated to reflect 2018 revisions to the Prop 65 regulations, which for the first time allocated responsibility for compliance within the supply chain. These revisions place the primary responsibility for compliance on manufacturers, distributors, and importers, while limiting the circumstances in which retail sellers are responsible for providing consumer product warnings. To the average person in California, if they know anything about Proposition 65 at all, it is usually…