Hello California friends (if you don't live in California, you can stop reading as this message does not apply to residents of any other state.)
You may have noticed on our Crunchy Cassava Crackers page we include messaging that refers to this Prop 65 warning.
WARNING: Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including lead and lead compounds, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.
Proposition 65 info
The Prop 65 warning is thanks to a law called the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, better known as Prop 65 (which I probably voted for!) It was meant to protect people from toxic water. In California you can find a variation of this warning on packaged foods, chocolates, dishes, jewelry, electronics, toys, furniture and buildings.
While originally well-intended, Prop 65 is an only-in-California law that requires companies to tell consumers if their products, including food, could contain or cause an exposure to any of the 900 different substances on California's list. (The list gets updated every year and continues to grow.)
According to Tom Houston, who helped draft the initial bill, “The major bad chemicals are off the market, the major bad actors have been corralled by the initiative. Now this is getting down to be almost ridiculous.”
The law was vaguely written and ill-conceived. Unfortunately, it allows lawyers to make money through expensive settlements, unless warnings are included on food packaging and websites which is why I had to write this message. As a small business with less than 10 employees, Cult Crackers is exempt from the warning requirements, but since we sell our crackers to grocery stores with more than 10 employees, lawyers have found a way around this exemption.
Prop 65 in its current state does not serve public health and might actually harm it by not making a distinction between real health risks and the general risk of consuming food. Not all of the cancer-related substances are considered to be known human carcinogens (known to cause cancer in people). This means that not every chemical on the list has been proven to the worldwide scientific community to actually cause cancer.
Prop 65 limits for lead are, in some cases, nearly 1,000 times lower than the EPA’s “No Significant Risk Levels.” Due to the unavoidable presence of lead in our environment, including water and soil, trace amounts of lead are found in almost every kind of food grown in soil, including many fruits, like apples and grapes, and many vegetables. For example, spinach, brussels sprouts, collard greens, and many other fresh vegetables can contain lead levels well in excess of safe harbors established under Prop 65. The limits established by Prop 65 are much more stringent than the ones set by the FDA and the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority). That’s why so many foods have a problem meeting the guidelines.
What does this have to do with cassava, a staple food for millions of people around the world? Cassava is a root vegetable, so it grows underground in the soil, and it may naturally contain trace amounts of lead, though lead is not intentionally added.
At Cult Crackers, we only use healthy organic ingredients, including organic cassava flour, to make our good-for-you crackers. Our crackers are certified organic by CCOF, one of the most stringent organic certifiers. My family and I eat Crunchy Cassava Crackers every day and I would never sell you crackers that I wouldn't feed to my child and my family.
If you're still concerned about our Crunchy Cassava Crackers, you can try our Classic Seed Crackers, which do not contain cassava.
Kind regards.
Dianna Cult Crackers Founder / CEO