About Foods Alive…

Foods Alive is a family-company, crafting healthy foods since 1999. Just like you, we strive for the optimal health and well-being of our loved ones, which is why you will find only the highest-quality ingredients in the foods we make. From our family to yours, may you have health, wealth, and happiness.

Foods Alive is a family-owned and operated business that cares more about the quality of food and the effects of producing it on our planet than profiting for oneself.

Why is there a proposition 65 warning on my bag?

What is Prop 65?

Proposition 65 (Prop 65) is a California law formally known as the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, which was enacted in 1986.[1] It is a right-to-know law requiring the public to be informed when a substance on the Prop 65 chemical list is present above a very low threshold. The law is unique to California and is not a national standard related to health or safety. No other state has such a labeling regulation. In California, even if a product is safe, Prop 65 requires a consumer warning if it contains 1 of approximately 900 listed substances.[2]

Are Foods Alive products with a Prop 65 warning safe?

Short answer. Yes. It is important to understand that a Prop 65 warning simply informs a customer that any amount of lead or cadmium might be present in a product. Because we sell to retail customers in the state of California and some of our products contain a trace amount of lead or cadmium, we are required by the state of California to post Prop 65 warnings on our products.

This does not mean our products are dangerous. The label speaks to our dedication to transparency and making our customers aware that lead or cadmium might be present, even though the levels are extremely low. As for the majority of our products, the levels are so low they are unable to be measured with the equipment designed and intended to detect dangerous levels.

At Foods Alive, sourcing the highest-quality products and ingredients has been and will always be of our utmost concern. This includes ensuring that GMP-compliant and Prop 65-compliant practices, procedures, and testing protocols are in place for all of our products, as well as the ingredients that go into them. Rest assured, none of these elements are added by farmers or by Foods Alive.

Why is lead found in foods?

Widespread in nature and in soil, lead is found in low levels. Because these minerals, including cadmium and lead, are present naturally in the soil, they are absorbed by plants through their roots along with other nutrients. As a result, there may be unavoidable trace amounts occurring in virtually all foods, including fish, meats, grains, fruits and vegetables.

Many Prop 65—listed chemicals are naturally present in plants that are used as food. A perfect example is a compound known as safrole, a natural constituent of a number of spices such as nutmeg, cinnamon, anise, black pepper and sweet basil.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and other health authorities have determined that tiny traces of naturally occurring minerals in foods are unavoidable and do not present a public health risk, threat of injury, or need for warnings. The FDA regularly monitors the amount of cadmium and lead in food and we ensure that our products safely pass any FDA regulations.

How is the limit for lead determined?

The warning level for lead is set by the California Office of Environmental Health and Hazard Assessment (OEHHA). The group identifies the level of exposure that has been shown to not pose any harm to humans or laboratory animals and then adds a large margin of safety.[3] more specifically, the “no observable effect level” is divided by 1,000 as the margin of safety. In other words, this margin of safety requires companies to use a warning if there may be an exposure that exceeds 1/1,000 of the no observable effect level (NOEL). Based on its NOEL, the warning level for lead is set at 0.5 micrograms. For context, a microgram is one millionth of a gram.