Product Safety | Prop65

Dear Reader,

You may have seen the following warning statement on the product page of our website, or on our product packaging:

WARNING: Cancer and Reproductive Harm – www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.

We appreciate your concerns. Rest assured that the statement does NOT mean that our products will necessarily cause cancer or reproductive harm. We put that warning on our website or packaging only to comply with California Proposition 65 laws, that are unique to the state of California.

Vacu Vin products are distributed all over the world and we take great care to assure that they comply with product safety legislation, such as FDA food contact safety regulations in the USA. The state of California has chosen to impose the Prop 65 laws independently from federal product safety legislation.

What is Prop65?

Proposition 65 is a law and only applies to any company that operates in California, sells products in California, or manufactures products that may be sold in or brought into California. Proposition 65 requires warnings to accompany any product that contains or may contain any of the chemicals appearing on the list administered by California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), a part of the California Environmental Protection Agency. The current list can be found here: https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list

Why do our products have these warnings on them?

We apply warning labels on the packaging of Vacu Vin products as part of our effort to comply with the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (known as “Proposition 65”). The warning does not mean that our products will necessarily cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm. While we believe our products are not harmful when used as designed, and we rely on our suppliers to help with this effort, we also provide these warnings to comply with Proposition 65.

What this means for you

While the proposition was created to protect drinking water sources from chemical contamination, the scope of the law has expanded over the years. It now includes over 900 chemicals and also pertains to (but is not limited to) exposure through touch, inhalation, ingestion, or skin contact.

The Prop 65 warning can now be found on products that may contain a small amount of over 900 chemicals or ingredients that the OEHHA lists as a carcinogen or reproductive toxicant. This includes compounds that are used in everyday life like vinyl, coatings, plastics, and much more.

Many of our products are made from materials that have been globally accepted and deemed safe for use in household products, including those intended for food contact purposes. The approved compounds do inevitably contain one or more of the chemicals listed on the Prop 65 list, but that does not necessarily mean that they cause cancer or reproductive harm.

So, why do we provide a warning?

Proposition 65 imposes strict penalties for noncompliance. While California establishes “safe harbor levels” for listed chemicals, the costs of individually testing products that we sell and distribute is simply not sustainable. Especially when the list of chemicals is so expansive and subject to change on an annual basis.

As a result of the steep penalties and because there is no penalty for providing an unnecessary warning, we decided to provide the Proposition 65 notice out of an abundance of caution.

For more information about Proposition 65 we suggest that you visit:

http://oehha.ca.gov/prop65/background/p65plain.html

Or for any questions, please contact our customer service department:

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