{"id":3981,"date":"2023-02-22T00:15:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T00:15:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/socal.law\/?p=3981"},"modified":"2023-02-24T00:40:36","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T00:40:36","slug":"out-of-the-frying-pan-ab-1200-and-the-new-online-and-physical-labeling-requirements-for-california-cookware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/socal.law\/out-of-the-frying-pan-ab-1200-and-the-new-online-and-physical-labeling-requirements-for-california-cookware\/","title":{"rendered":"Out of the Frying Pan: AB 1200 and the New Online and Physical Labeling Requirements for California Cookware"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

AB 1200 \u2013 Client Update<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If there\u2019s one thing lawyers love, it\u2019s reporting on new laws that go into effect on January 1 of each new year\u2014ourselves included. But one January 1 change that may have flown under the radar for many is the effective date of the first part of California Assembly Bill 1200 (\u201cAB 1200\u201d)\u2014a new California law that imposes extensive disclosure requirements on manufacturers of cookware and food packaging items that contain listed chemicals with toxic properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Food Packaging<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The food packaging requirements are the smaller portion of AB 1200 and easier to parse. As of January 1, 2023, no \u201cfood packaging\u201d in California may contain \u201cregulated perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS.\u201d Cal. Health & Saf. Code \u00a7 109000(b). \u201cFood packaging\u201d is broadly defined to include any food or beverage storage item such as take out containers, wrappers, utensils, straws, and so on. See id.<\/em> \u00a7 109000(a)(1). \u201cRegulated . . . PFAS\u201d is defined as organic chemicals containing at least one fully fluorinated carbon atom where the manufacturer has \u201cintentionally added\u201d it to the product in question, or where the product has more than 100 parts per million of PFAS.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stated legislative purpose was to bring food packaging requirements into congruence with pre-existing law that prohibits bisphenol A in baby bottles and cups and pre-existing (but not yet effective) law that prohibits PFAS in cosmetic products. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cookware<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where it gets interesting. The cookware portion of AB 1200 imposes two distinct requirements: internet disclosure requirements and product label requirements. The former went into effect on January 1, 2023, the latter will not go into effect until a year later. Id. <\/em>\u00a7 109011-109012.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               Internet Posting<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The internet posting rules require that manufacturers of any \u201ccookware\u201d sold in California that contains any intentionally added chemicals that appear on the list of candidate chemicals published by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (\u201cDTSC\u201d) in the \u201ccookware surface\u201d or \u201chandle\u201d of the cookware product to provide a written warning on the \u201cinternet website for the cookware.\u201d  Id.<\/em> \u00a7 109012.  That written warning must contain the names of all listed chemicals, the names of the \u201cauthoritative lists\u201d from which the DTSC candidate list pulls the listed chemicals, and a link to the websites for each authoritative list. Id. <\/em>\u00a7 109012(a)-(c). \u201cCookware\u201d is broadly defined to mean \u201cdurable houseware items\u201d used to \u201cprepare, dispense, or store food, foodstuffs, or beverages.\u201d \u201cCookware surface\u201d is any part of the cookware that touches the food or beverage. \u201cHandle\u201d is undefined, but presumably has its ordinary meaning to include the handles of pots, pans, and utensils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

               Product Labeling<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for product labeling requirements, going into effect January 1, 2024, the triggering mechanism is the same as for internet posting: the presence of an intentionally added candidate chemical in the cookware surface that comes into contact with food or beverages or the product handle. Id. <\/em>\u00a7 109011(a). If said chemical is present, the manufacturer must provide a warning on the product label that provides (1) a list of the candidate chemicals the product contains; (2) a hyperlink to the website that provides the internet posting requirement information under section 109012, with a short preamble in both English and Spanish, and (3) a QR code that links directly to the internet posting requirement information. Id.<\/em> This information also must be visible on the \u201cproduct listing for online sales.\u201d Id.<\/em> \u00a7 109011(b). \u201cProduct label\u201d is defined as \u201ca display of written, printed, or graphic material that appears on, or is affixed to, the exterior of a product, or its exterior container or wrapper that is visible to a consumer, if the product has an exterior container or wrapper.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The statute also provides a small exemption for cookware that either lacks enough surface area to ft a product label of two square inches, or does not have exterior packaging or a tag with information about the cookware. Id. <\/em>\u00a7 109011(c). Products exempt from the physical product labeling requirement must still provide the required information on the online listing for the product under section 109011(b).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enforcement<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike other consumer protection \u201cright to know\u201d statutes related to toxic chemicals, such as California\u2019s Proposition 65, AB 1200 currently has no statutory private right of action. Even regarding public enforcement, AB 1200 also contains no provisions for statutory damages, penalties, or attorneys\u2019 fees. In fact, the only gesture toward enforcement provides simply that cookware not in compliance with the posting\/labeling requirements \u201cshall not be sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state.\u201d Id.<\/em> \u00a7 109014. This begs the question of what happens if a manufacturer violates the cookware provisions\u2014would a shipment of noncomplying cookware to the Port of Los Angeles be seized? Would cookware in violation be sent back to its point of origin? Would it be destroyed? Who is the agency in charge of enforcing compliance? Does \u201coffered for sale . . . in the state\u201d encompass websites that are visible in California that would be subject to blockage if not in compliance with the posting requirements? These are all open questions in this newborn statute, and only time will tell how the State of California will enforce its provisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open Issues<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ambiguities inherent in this statute will likely lead to litigation over when chemicals are \u201cintentionally added\u201d to the handle or cookware surface. The DTSC candidate chemical list is nothing if not overinclusive. Numerous basic elements, such as iron and chromium, are listed candidate chemicals, the two of which just so happen to be the key components of stainless steel, a popular material in pots and pans. Does using stainless steel, a common material, in the handle of a pot or pan require an internet posting under the statute? Or is it exempt as iron and chromium were not \u201cintentionally added\u201d because their inclusion is incidental to the usage of stainless steel? The statute\u2019s definition of \u201cintentionally added chemical\u201d leaves plenty of room for argument and interpretation: \u201ca chemical that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product that has a functional or technical effect in the product, including the components of intentionally added chemicals and intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product.\u201d Id.<\/em> \u00a7 109010(c).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going one level deeper, the breadth of the DTSC candidate chemical list as applied to cookware\u2014particularly \u201chandles\u201d thereto\u2014is also subject to challenge. For example, iron is only listed as a candidate chemical because it is a pollutant under the Clean Water Act. No one would argue that iron is safe to have in drinking water, but it is dubious that the prohibition of iron in drinking water should be extended such that iron is viewed as a toxic chemical when ensconced in the alloy structure of stainless steel in the handle of a saucepan. The \u201cpiggybacking\u201d of AB 1200 on the DTSC candidate list without any nuances or carveouts, may be subject to court challenge by manufacturers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

AB 1200 imposes significant labeling burdens on manufacturers of cookware sold in California. Although the consequences for noncompliance are ill-defined at this point in time, manufacturers would do well to comply as much as possible with the statute until those consequences are clarified. That said, manufacturers that are not yet in compliance can take some comfort in the fact that the plaintiffs\u2019 bar does not yet have a reason (or a right) to pursue civil lawsuits for violations of the statute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a cookware manufacturer with questions about AB 1200 compliance, please reach out to our office to discuss.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AB 1200 \u2013 Client Update If there\u2019s one thing lawyers love, it\u2019s reporting on new laws that go into effect on January 1 of each new year\u2014ourselves included. But one January 1 change that may have flown under the radar for many is the effective date of the first part of California Assembly Bill 1200 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nOut of the Frying Pan: AB 1200 and the New Online and Physical Labeling Requirements for California Cookware - Gupta Evans and Ayres<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/socal.law\/out-of-the-frying-pan-ab-1200-and-the-new-online-and-physical-labeling-requirements-for-california-cookware\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Out of the Frying Pan: AB 1200 and the New Online and Physical Labeling Requirements for California Cookware - Gupta Evans and Ayres\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"AB 1200 \u2013 Client Update If there\u2019s one thing lawyers love, it\u2019s reporting on new laws that go into effect on January 1 of each new year\u2014ourselves included. 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