Proposition 65 is part of California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986. Prop 65 is an initiative whose goal is to protect drinking water sources in California and the list includes over 800 chemicals, some of which are naturally occurring heavy metal minerals. The safety limits set by Prop 65 are not realistic for most products, as these standards were never meant to be applied to food.
The standards for cadmium and lead as set by the state of California through Prop 65 are more stringent than what is required by many other organizations including the World Health Organization (WHO), the Canadian government, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
That being said, Proposition 65 is enforced by law, regardless of the source of these contaminants (i.e. naturally occurring heavy metal minerals). Our products ship all over the country and due to the nature of our online sales, we are not able to control or avoid our products being sold in California. Therefore, Viva Naturals has made the decision to include the warning that is required by the state of California on any product affected by it.
DOES THIS MEAN VIVA NATURALS PRODUCTS AREN’T SAFE?
While it is important to pay attention to all product warnings, the standards for Proposition 65 warnings are very strict and are based on very low levels of exposure. The amounts established by Proposition 65 for these heavy metals can be less than what occurs naturally in unprocessed foods like fresh fruits and nuts.
HEAVY METAL LIMITS AT VIVA NATURALS
The standards for heavy metals as set by Prop 65 are specific to the state of California and are more stringent than what is required by all other regulatory organizations including WHO, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and the FDA.
Rest assured that our products are tested both internally and through third party organizations to meet all safety standards for your consumption. We perform heavy metal testing to ensure all our Viva Naturals products are well below the maximum daily limits set by JECFA [Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO)] and are definitely safe for consumption.
