California Prop 65 Notice & Disclaimer
What is Proposition 65?
Last updated: January 1, 2026
A Note to Our Customers
At Z Natural Foods, we care deeply about the quality of the foods and ingredients we offer. Many of our customers choose our products as part of their everyday wellness, nutrition, and healthy-living routines, and we understand that seeing a California Proposition 65 warning can feel surprising or unsettling at first glance.
For that reason, we want to explain this warning in a way that is clear, balanced, and easy to understand.
A Proposition 65 warning is a California-required warning and disclosure. It is not, by itself, a statement that a product is unsafe, defective, or unlawful. OEHHA, the California agency that administers Proposition 65, explains that warnings are required for certain listed-chemical exposures unless exposure is low enough to fall below California’s warning thresholds. (OEHHA)
What Proposition 65 Is
California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly known as Proposition 65, requires businesses to provide a warning before knowingly and intentionally exposing individuals in California to certain chemicals that the State of California has listed as causing cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm, unless an exemption applies. Proposition 65 is a warning and disclosure law. It is not a general product-ban law. (OEHHA)
In other words, seeing a Prop 65 warning does not automatically mean that a product is harmful or that it fails to meet federal or non-California standards. OEHHA states that a warning means the business is aware of or believes that one or more listed chemicals may be present, and a business may choose to warn based on its knowledge or assumptions without fully evaluating exposure levels. (OEHHA).
Why You May See This Warning on Our Products
Because some of our products are sold in, shipped to, or may be received in California, we provide Prop 65 warnings where appropriate as part of our California compliance practices. We also use a consistent warning approach across labels, website listings, and sales channels so that customers receive clear and uniform information.
This helps us:
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comply with California law where applicable;
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maintain consistency across product labels, product pages, marketplace listings, and other channels;
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support transparency for customers; and
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reduce confusion that can come from different warning practices in different places.
California’s warning framework is broad and highly conservative. OEHHA explains that Proposition 65 warnings can be required even when exposures are far below levels many people would ordinarily associate with an unsafe product, including cancer-risk thresholds defined as not more than one excess case in 100,000 people over a 70-year lifetime and reproductive thresholds based on dividing a no-observed-effect level by 1,000. (OEHHA)
What This Warning Does Not Mean
A Prop 65 warning on a Z Natural Foods product does not automatically mean:
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that the product is unsafe for normal intended use;
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that the product is contaminated or defective;
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that it is out of compliance with federal or non-California standards; or
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that ordinary use is known to present a health problem.
Instead, it means that California’s warning rules may apply, or that we are providing the warning as part of a careful and consistent California compliance approach. That core explanation is also reflected in both your earlier and newer Prop 65 drafts.
Natural Foods Can Naturally Contain Trace Constituents
Many foods and food ingredients can naturally contain trace amounts of substances that occur in soil, water, air, or growing environments. This may include trace minerals or heavy metals that are naturally present in agricultural, botanical, or marine-derived ingredients. OEHHA specifically notes that the Proposition 65 list includes both naturally occurring and synthetic chemicals, including chemicals that may be found in food. (OEHHA)
That does not, by itself, mean a product is contaminated or poor quality. Natural foods are influenced by growing conditions, soil composition, water, geography, and season. For that reason, many natural and minimally processed ingredients can also vary from batch to batch in color, aroma, taste, texture, density, granularity, or moisture response. Both your 2025 and 2026 drafts already frame this well, and I would keep that language in spirit.
Our Approach to Quality
Quality matters to us.
We focus on sourcing natural, nutrient-dense, minimally processed food ingredients whenever possible. We also use quality-control practices designed to support the products we offer for sale. Depending on the product and circumstances, those practices may include supplier documentation review, internal quality checks, and internal and/or third-party laboratory testing. If a product does not meet our internal quality expectations for sale, we do not intend to sell it. That quality-and-testing framing appears in the earlier draft and can be preserved in a softer, more polished form like this.
The presence of a Prop 65 warning does not override these quality standards. It is simply an additional California-specific disclosure.
Warning Language You May See
To address California’s warning requirements, you may see warning language substantially similar to the following:
⚠ WARNING: Can expose you to lead, which is known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive harm. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food
or
⚠ CALIFORNIA WARNING: This product can expose you to lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause cancer and reproductive toxicity. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food
The exact wording, symbol, or placement may vary depending on the product, packaging, website layout, marketplace requirements, or future regulatory updates. OEHHA states that the updated short-form warning regulations became effective on January 1, 2025, provide businesses using the existing short-form warnings three years to transition, and make explicit that short-form warnings may be used for food products. (OEHHA)
A Reassuring Perspective
We know these warnings can feel stronger than the everyday reality behind them.
Our intention in providing this explanation is not to create alarm. It is to provide context. California’s warning system is intentionally cautious, and a warning is often best understood as part of that broader disclosure framework rather than as a standalone statement that a product is dangerous. OEHHA’s plain-language guidance supports that interpretation. (OEHHA)
We believe customers deserve both transparency and perspective. That is why we include this page.
A Few Important Notes
This page is provided for general informational and compliance-related purposes. It is not medical, nutritional, legal, customs, or import/export advice. It should not be relied on as a substitute for advice from a qualified healthcare professional, attorney, or other advisor familiar with your individual circumstances. That structure is also consistent with your January 2026 notice and broader ZNF legal stack.
Nothing in this Notice is intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or medical condition.
If you have specific medical, dietary, pregnancy, allergy, medication, or sensitivity-related concerns, please consult an appropriate qualified professional before use.
How This Notice Fits with Our Other Policies
This California Proposition 65 Notice & Disclaimer is part of our broader Z Natural Foods legal framework and should be read together with our Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Legal Notice / Disclaimer Policy, Purchases, Subscriptions & Pre-Orders Policy, Shipping & Delivery Policy, Cancellations, Returns, Refunds & Title Policy, Accessibility Statement, and other applicable policies posted on our Legal page. That integrated-policy structure is reflected throughout your January 2026 drafts and related ZNF policies.
If there is a direct conflict, the Terms of Use control with respect to arbitration, class-action waiver, limitation of liability, governing law, venue, and related risk-allocation terms, while this Notice controls with respect to Proposition 65-specific disclosures.
Marketplace, Resale, and International Orders
We may display or provide Prop 65 warning content through our website, checkout flows, labels, phone or email sales materials, local pickup processes, and certain third-party marketplaces or platforms. Where third-party platforms control formatting or presentation, the warning may not always appear in exactly the same way it appears on our own site or packaging.
If a product is purchased from an unauthorized seller or third party for whom Z Natural Foods is not the seller or merchant of record, we may not control that seller’s storage, handling, listing content, warning presentation, or return process. For non-U.S. transactions, unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, the purchaser or importer is responsible for local import, customs, tax, warning, labeling, resale, and legal-compliance requirements.
Updates to This Notice
We may update this Notice and related warning language from time to time to reflect changes in law, regulations, product facts, packaging, platform requirements, or business operations.
Additional Information and External References
For more information about California Proposition 65, please visit:
www.oehha.ca.gov/prop65 (OEHHA)
Prop 65 Enforcement Scam – KrostCPAS
Industry Examples and Distributors
a. Companies Pursued for Prop 65 Non-Compliance
The list of companies in the nutritional supplement and broader consumer product industries that have faced enforcement actions under Proposition 65 is extensive and continues to grow. Examples include (but are not limited to):
4Life Research
Absolute Nutrition
Advanced Nutrient Science
Advanced Physicians Formula (NHK Laboratories)
Advocare International
AIM International
AL Global Corporation
Alfa Vitamins Lab
ALL ONE Nutritech
Aloe Vera of America
Amazon Herb Company American Body Building Products
American BodyBuilding Products
Arbonne International (Arbonne Essentials)
Arise & Shine Herbal Products
Aspen Group
AST Sport Science
ATF Fitness Products
Atrium Inc.
Ayush Herbs
Baseline Nutritionals
Beauty & Health International
Betty Lou’s
Bio-International
Biotics Research Corporation
Bristol Farms Pure Synergy
Bronson Nutritionals
Ceautamed Worldwide
Cell-Nique Corporation
CGNP Manufacturing
Champion Nutrition
Chi’s Enterprise
Continental Vitamin Company
Creations Garden Natural Products
DEVA Nutrition
DNS Nutrition
Dr. Health
Dr. Mercola
Dr. Schulze’s American Botanical Pharmacy
EarthLab (Wise Woman Herbals)
Erom
Forever Living
Forevergreen
FreeLife International
Full Green Circle
Futurebiotics
Garden of Life
General Nutrition Centers
Genesis Pure
Genesis Today
Genisoy Food Company
GHC ND Operations
Ginco International
Global Healing Center
Golden Flower Chinese Herbs
Golden Neo-Life Diamite International
Good Life International
Great American Products
Greens World
Health Body Services
Health Plus
Healthy Body Services
Healthy Directions
Healthy Healing
Healthy Natural Systems International
Heritage Health Products Company
ICA Health (Dr. Wilson’s Original Formulations)
ICC Industries
Inner Health Group
Institute for Vibrant Living
Integrated Sports Science
Integrity Health Group
ISI Brands
It Works Global
Jarrow Formulas
Kan Herb Company
Konsyl Pharmaceuticals
Kraft Foods
Labrada Nutrition
Life Extension (XtendOLife)
Life Force International
Living Intentions
LuckyVitamin Corporation
MacroLife Naturals
Max Muscle Sports Nutrition
MET-Rx Engineered Nutrition
Metagenics
Mountain Rose Herbs
MRI
MRM
Myogenix
Natrol
Natura Health Products
Naturade Operating Corporation
Natural Organics
Nature’s Answer (Greens Today, Tru Cleanse, etc.)
Nature’s Best
Nature’s Bounty
Nature’s Herb Company
Nature’s Plus
Nature’s Sunshine Products
Nature’s Way Products
Naturemed
Navitas Naturals
New England Greens
NOW Foods
Nu Skin Enterprises
NuCare International
Nutraceutical Corporation
Nutri-Well International
Nutri-West
NutriBiotic
Nutricologiy
Optimum Nutrition
Organic By Nature
Organic India USA
Ortho Molecular Products
Promax Nutrition Corporation
ProSource
Pure Planet Products
Quick Trim
R-U-VED
Raw Indulgence
ReNew Life Formulas
Rexal Sundown
Robbins Research International
Self Health Resource Center (Dr. Clark Store)
Seychelles Organics
Sonne’s Organic Foods
Sunfood Superfoods
Sunrider International
Sunsweet Growers
Sunwarrior
Supreme Protein
Symmetry Corporation
Tao of Wellness
The Clean Program Corp.
The Synergy Company
Trace Minerals Research
TRC Nutritional Laboratories
TriVita
Ultimate Nutrition
United Herbal Sciences
United States Nutrition
Vega (Sequel Naturals)
Vibrant Health
Visual Sciences
Vital Pharmaceuticals
Vitamin Power
Vitamin Research Products
Vitamin Shoppe
VitaTech International
Vitonomy
Wellness Watchers Global
WellNX Life Sciences
Western Botanicals
Wholistic Botanicals
Windmill Health Products
World Health Products
Yerba Prima
b. Distributors
Examples of distributors in this sector include:
DPS Nutrition
iHerb
GNC
Swanson Health Products
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