About California Prop 65

California Prop 65 Q&A

For certain dietary supplement and food products sold to California residents, doTERRA includes a warning on the pack slips indicating that the product contains chemicals that pose health risks. Although our products are safe, doTERRA along with all companies selling in California are required to provide this warning to comply with the controversial California law known as Prop 65. Such warnings are commonly seen in California on consumer products, at restaurants, amusement parks, and many other locations. No other State has such a law.

What is Prop 65?

Proposition 65 is a California law enacted in 1986 that requires cancer and birth defect risk warnings on products containing any of the 900+ substances listed by the State of California (see http://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/proposition-65-list). The warning is required in many cases even if the substance is found in extremely minute, trace amounts that fall far below FDA and World Health Organization Guidelines, and the internationally recognized standards for dietary supplements (ANSI 173). In fact, Prop 65 requires the warning unless the exposure to the chemical is at least 1,000 times lower than the level of exposure that has been scientifically shown to have no negative effect on humans or animals.

How are doTERRA products affected by Prop 65?

The primary issue that doTERRA and all other dietary supplement makers face with Prop 65 is lead. We do not add lead to our products. We use natural, plant-based ingredients in our dietary supplements, which sometimes contain extremely small traces of naturally occurring lead from the soil. Prop 65 requires a warning if the product dosage exposes the consumer to lead in an amount greater than 0.5 micrograms per day. Compare this to the World Health Organization’s standard of 10 micrograms per day for lead exposure. Consider the amounts of lead found in many of the healthy foods that we consume safely every day. FDA studies have shown that the amount of naturally occurring lead in an adult-size serving of spinach (fresh/frozen/boiled) is 65 micrograms, and brussel sprouts is 70 micrograms. See https://www.fda.gov/food/guidance-regulation-food-and-dietary-supplements/guidance-documents-regulatory-information-topic-food-and-dietary-supplements

Are doTERRA products safe?

Yes! doTERRA is renowned for the purity and safety of its products. doTERRA uses safe, natural ingredients for its world-class products, and follows strict testing and quality assurance protocols, including stringent lead and other heavy metal testing. It’s only natural to sometimes find some extremely miniscule and scientifically-proven safe traces of naturally occurring lead from the soil. Prop 65 is highly controversial since it requires companies to provide alarming health risk warnings for traces of substances in amounts that are 1,000 times less than what has been scientifically proven not to cause risk of harm to humans. Please rest assured that you can continue to safely enjoy doTERRA’s powerful, natural, health promoting products as always.