New OEHHA Proposition 65 Acrylamide Warning Label Does Little To Resolve Pending First Amendment Challenges

The California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) recently approved a revised Proposition 65 warning label requirement for the use of acrylamide in food and beverages. California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the revision's proponent, contends the language will resolve the First Amendment claims being asserted by the California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) in federal district court in California. Following OAL's approval, OEHHA's "safe harbor warning" for acrylamide will become operative on January 1, 2023.

Under California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly referred to as Proposition 65 (Prop. 65), businesses are required to provide warnings to consumers about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. As of February 25, 2022, almost 1,000 chemicals are subject to this requirement and one of these chemicals is acrylamide.