U.S. – January 2026 California Proposition 65 – 60-Day Notices Analysis

Vol. 1523 | 09 Feb 2026

In January 2026, there were 512 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65, of which 63% of the notices (320 notices) served were for the category of Lead, 10% of notices (51 notices) were served for the presence of Phthalates, 27% of the notices (140) were for the presence of other chemicals, and 0.2% of the notices (1 notice) for the combined presence of Lead and Phthalates.

The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, commonly referred to as Proposition 65 (Prop 65), is enforced by the California Attorney General’s office or any district attorney or certain city attorneys or by any individual acting in the public interest. Prop 65 requires that an individual acting in the public interest, to enforce the Act give notice of the impending action to the person alleged to be committing the violation, along with the Attorney General, district attorneys and certain city attorneys in which the violation is alleged to have occurred. The notice must be sent to these parties no less than 60 days before commencing the action; thus, this notice is commonly referred to as the “60-day Notice of Violation”.

In January 2026, there were 512 60-day notices for violation of Prop 65, of which 63% of the notices (320 notices) served were for the category of Lead, 10% of notices (51 notices) were served for the presence of Phthalates, 27% of the notices (140) were for the presence of other chemicals, and 0.2% of the notices (1 notice) for the combined presence of Lead and Phthalates.

Among the reported notices, in the category of bags and cases, there were 9 notices for the presence of Phthalates. Externally decorated glass and ceramics had 29 notices for the presence of Lead. There was 1 notice issued for the presence of lead in locks. There were 3 notices issued for the presence of lead in candles and accessories. There were 8 notices issued for the presence of phthalates in packaging.

The beauty and personal care category had 16 notices for the presence of other chemicals such as Diethanolamine and Mercury in various products such as shaving gel, moisturizers, shower gels, serums, mascara etc.

There were 5 notices for the presence of Hexavalent Chromium in gloves, and 1 notice for the presence in dress belts. In the category of footwear, there were 4 notices issued for the presence of Hexavalent Chromium and 1 notice for the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA).

There were 27 notices issued for the presence of Bisphenol S (BPS) in receipts. Further, there were 2 notices issued for the presence of Bisphenol A (BPA) in the category of sports and recreation and fishing accessories.

For local and worldwide companies manufacturing and/or operating in the state of California, Intertek’s Prop 65 compliance services provide the expert support and laboratory testing qualifications needed to comply with regulations and mitigate complexities. Simply contact us.

For questions, please contact Harini Ramaswamy (harini.ramaswamy@intertek.com) and Andrew Loveland (andrew.loveland@intertek.com).

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