Proposition 65 - OEHHA Amends BPA Exposure Warning Requirements for Food and Beverage Containers

California's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) adopted a temporary emergency regulation on April 18, 2016, which implemented warning label method and content provisions specifically for exposures to BPA from canned and bottled foods and beverages sold at retail level. Effective May 11, 2016, BPA exposure warnings must be affixed to the product container or, alternatively, posted on a sign at each point-of-sale (cash register, check-out line) in the retail location; in addition, the emergency regulation stipulates strict warning language requirements that specify the chemical of interest and its health endpoint of concern ("harm to the female reproductive system"). The provisions in the emergency regulation are in effect until October 17, 2016.

On July 29, 2016, OEHHA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to continue the emergency BPA warning regulation provisions until December 30, 2017. However, this new regulation limits the scope of the point-of-sale warning provisions. To utilize point-of-sale warning signs rather than individual product labels, food and beverage companies that intentionally use BPA must submit the following product identifying information in a "searchable, electronic format" to OEHHA:

• Brand name

• Product description, including FDA product category

• Universal Product Code or other identifying designation

• Where applicable, the last expiration or 'use by' date for the product(s) where BPA was intentionally used

Once submitted, OEHHA will publish the above information on its website, so that consumers can learn where BPA is intentionally used in food and beverage containers. A public hearing on the proposed regulatory amendment is scheduled for 10:00 a.m. on September 12, 2016, in the Sierra Hearing Room at the CalEPA Headquarters building 1001 I Street in Sacramento. The hearing will also be webcast.