You may have noticed that we now label our organic Cassava pasta packaging with a California Proposition 65 warning.

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. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.

This warning and its wording are in adherence to a law called the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Prop 65. If you live in California, you’ll find a variation of this warning on chocolate, coffee, protein powders, other packaged foods, and almost every building.

So, what’s this warning about? And what does it have to do with jovial? Here are some facts about California’s Prop 65 and some resources in case you want to learn more.

WHAT IS PROP 65?

Proposition 65 is a California “right to know” law that requires companies to tell consumers if their products, including food, contain or cause an exposure to one or more of the chemicals on the State’s list.

Prop 65 requires products sold in California to bear warnings about potential exposure to any of the substances listed by the state of California. This notice does not apply to any other state in the Union.

Over 900 chemicals have been listed under California Prop 65 as carcinogens or reproductive toxicants, or both. Unfortunately, heavy metals like lead, cadmium, arsenic, and mercury to name a few, occur naturally in soil and water. As a result, these types of chemicals are often naturally found in commonly eaten foods, even though these chemicals are not intentionally added.

The limits established by Prop 65 are much more stringent than the ones set by the FDA and the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). That’s why so many foods have a problem meeting the guidelines. Heavy metals are unavoidable in the environment and trace amounts are found in almost every kind of food grown in soil, including many commonly eaten vegetables. For example, brussels sprouts, spinach, collard greens, and many other fresh veggies can contain lead levels well in excess of safe harbors established under Prop 65.

JOVIAL CASSAVA PRODUCTS

All jovial Cassava products fall very comfortably within federal guidelines for heavy metals. In fact, the USDA recommended 3-5 servings of vegetables daily could result in exposures of lead that are multiples higher than the safe harbor established under California prop 65 (0.5 micrograms per day).

When it comes to jovial Cassava products, the Prop 65 warning label refers to trace amounts of lead. This element is naturally present in organic soils and are absorbed to varying degrees by the plants (cassava, in our case) grown in them. Luckily, lead is non-essential to plant growth and are not prioritized in the nutrient uptake cycle, keeping its presence minimal.

The amount of heavy metals found in a food depends on a variety of factors, including the geographic location in which the plant is grown (soils in some areas of the world contain more heavy metal elements than in others); the part of the plant that’s being harvested (certain seeds, nuts, or dark leafy greens store more heavy metals than other foods); and the climate conditions of a particular year.

So, while the levels can range from harvest to harvest, we ensure safety and quality in our foods by testing each batch of Cassava flour prior to production. We would never sell you a product that we would not eat ourselves!

For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.