California Prop 65 Food, Beverage & Supplement Defense Lawyers

You received a Prop 65 60-Day Notice, and the clock is already running. A private enforcer, often referred to as a “bounty hunter”, is alleging one of your products exposes Californians to a listed chemical without the warning state law requires, and that exposure grows every day the notice sits unanswered.

The Food Lawyers® defend food, beverage, and supplement companies against Prop 65 claims by pairing litigation strategy with an in-house team of PhD food scientists who take the case apart before a lawsuit is ever filed.

Companies that bring us in at the notice stage often resolve the matter well before it reaches a courtroom. Schedule a Zoom consultation with our team today, and put the 60 days to work for you instead of against you.

Why Food, Beverage, and Supplement Companies Choose The Food Lawyers® for Prop 65 Defense

Prop 65 defense works differently when the science lives inside the same building as the litigation team, not on the other end of an expert-witness invoice. Our in-house bench includes a former Senior Principal Scientist from General Mills and an attorney who also holds a PhD in Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, and they sit in on Prop 65 matters from the first phone call, not after a notice has already become a lawsuit. 

Chambers USA recognizes The Food Lawyers® with a Spotlight ranking in Food & Beverages and names the firm’s Managing Principal, George Salmas, as its key contact for California.

We defend companies only, never the enforcer side, which means every argument we build is built for your side of the notice. Decades of food-industry focus and a defense-only practice matter. But the scientists in the room are why companies bring us in the moment a 60-Day Notice arrives, rather than after a demand becomes a deadline they can no longer control.

What a Prop 65 60-Day Notice Actually Means for Your Company

Proposition 65, the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, lets a private enforcer send a 60-Day Notice claiming your product exposes Californians to a listed chemical without a warning (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 25249.6). The enforcer must wait 60 days before filing a lawsuit, which gives your company a real, narrow window to respond, and that window is the leverage point in every Prop 65 matter.

Penalties can be in the hundreds of thousands,  plus the enforcer’s attorneys’ fees (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 25249.7), so a claim that starts as one letter can escalate fast if it is ignored or mishandled. The chemicals behind most notices are familiar to anyone in food and beverage manufacturing: lead, cadmium, and acrylamide appear again and again, often at trace levels tied to soil, water, or the cooking process rather than anything added on purpose.

Whether a warning was actually required comes down to one number: the exposure level measured against California’s official safe-harbor threshold. Get that number right, and the underlying claim often falls apart with it.

How We Defend Prop 65 Claims: A Mosaic of Moving Parts

No two Prop 65 cases are identical.  Each one is composed of a number of pieces affecting each other as the case evolves:

1. Who is the notifier and their attorneys?  This is often the single most important piece of the puzzle.  We’ve defended Prop 65 cases since 1987 and we’ve opposed each of the notifiers’ firms at least 25 times.  Different opponents have different capabilities and weaknesses.  Knowing the game each of them plays is very often the difference between success and failure.

2. Is conducting our own laboratory testing worthwhile?  Sometimes it’s the key to the case and other times it’s a waste of money.  Our attorneys and PhD food scientists, who’ve spent years in Prop 65 defense and food testing, will advise you on the likelihood of testing producing good information in your case.

3. Does the enforcer have jurisdiction over you?  An often overlooked step that can be the difference between winning and losing.

4. Should you reformulate your product to avoid a Prop 65 violation?  One of the options open to the food company is reformulating the product to remove the Prop 65 violation.  Once again, our Prop 65 defense attorneys and food scientists can help you sort out those choices.  In one notable case, our scientists traced the lead in the product to an ingredient extruder nozzle.  The nozzle was changed and the Prop 65 violation was ended.

5. Is the notifier using the right test methodology?  Debunk their test method and the case is over.  Our attorneys and scientists include this in the analysis.

6. What Prop 65 warning can you use and how do you deliver it?  If giving a Prop 65 warning is the solution, we’ll guide you through the technical intricacies of the correct language and distribution.

These are just a few of the issues that need to be addressed to get you to the finish line.  We’ll be with you, every step of the way on that journey.

What to Expect When You Schedule a Zoom Consultation

Our process starts virtual and stays virtual, so a notice on your desk today can be in front of our attorneys today. A phone call comes first, followed by a video consultation with our team, where we walk through the notice, the product formulation, and the timeline going forward.

From there, our defense team coordinates directly with your operations and legal teams by email and video, wherever your company is based, to move things forward in the most efficient manner.

Prop 65 Defense FAQs

We received a Prop 65 60-Day Notice. What should we do first?

Do not respond directly to the enforcer, and do not change your label or formulation yet. Contact us as soon as possible. The 60-day clock is real, and the earlier we can begin our analysis, the more options remain open, including resolving the claim before any lawsuit is filed.

Do we actually have to put a warning on our product?

Only if the exposure level for the listed chemical exceeds California’s safe-harbor threshold, or if no threshold exists for that chemical. That is usually the first question our scientists answer, and it can often change the entire direction of the case.

What are the penalties for a Prop 65 violation?

Penalties can reach $2,500 per day, per violation, plus the enforcer’s attorneys’ fees, which is why even a technical violation carries real financial exposure. 

The Legal Team Food Companies Call When the Stakes Are Highest

Schedule a Zoom Meeting

Schedule Your Prop 65 Defense Consultation Today

A Prop 65 60-Day Notice is a deadline, not a debate, and how your food, beverage, or supplement company responds in the first days often decides how the matter ends. Schedule a Zoom consultation with The Food Lawyers®, and let our California Prop 65 defense attorneys and in-house food scientists build your response while the 60 days are still working in your favor, not against you.