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OEHHA further amends its proposed Proposition 65 revisions to the short form warning format

April 14, 2022

In a proposal released on April 5, 2022, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) proposes further amendments to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled “Proposed Amendments to Article 6 Clear and Reasonable Warnings.” This third proposal removes the previously proposed label and packaging restrictions on the use of the Proposition 65 short form warning format, which is currently used by many companies in the natural products industry due to the small package and label sizes of their marketed products.

Importantly, the most recent OEHHA proposal rescinds the proposed 12 square inches (sq in) maximum label size for short form warnings, which responds to prior public comments submitted by AHPA and other public commenters. OEHHA's original proposal to modify the short form warning format was introduced on January 8, 2021, and included a maximum label size for short form warnings of 5 sq in, among other proposed changes.

If the latest OEHHA proposal is finalized, short form warnings will be required to include the identification of one Proposition 65 listed chemical for which the warning is being provided. Companies currently providing warnings using the short form format will have to revise their Proposition 65 warning practices to identify a chemical related to the warning, and will have a two-year transition period in which to make this change rather than the originally proposed one-year period.

AHPA appreciates that, in this case, OEHHA carefully considered the public commentary about the potential impacts of the proposed label and package restrictions for short form warnings. AHPA requested an extension to the transition period as the changes proposed are being introduced during a period when some industries are still challenged with operating under emergency orders, labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions. AHPA will continue to monitor this OEHHA Proposed Rulemaking and will issue updates to corresponding AHPA Proposition 65 guidance documents when it is finalized.

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