Attorney General Files Lawsuit Regarding Questionable Ingredient

The Attorney General of California has filed a major lawsuit against body care household-cleaning product companies whose products recently tested highest for the carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane. The action was in part to a study released by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) in March of this year, but also based on testing.

Under California’s “Proposition 65” consumer products that contain toxic levels of 1,4 Dioxane must have warning labels stating they may cause cancer. 1,4-Dioxane is typically produced as a byproduct when ingredients are ethoxylated with the petrochemical ethylene oxide, a process which has become standard practice for many cleansing and moisturizing products.  

The suit, California v. Avalon Natural Products (manufacturer of the Alba brand), also names Whole Foods Market California (manufacturer of the Whole Foods 365 brand), Beaumont Products (manufacturer of the Citrus Magic brand) and Nutribiotic. It is unclear exactly which products manufactured by the aforementioned companies triggered the lawsuit, but all named companies have sold products that tested close to or in excess of 20 parts per million for 1,4-Dioxane in the OCA study released at the Natural Products Expo in Anaheim, CA in March.

Last week OCA sent a letter to the four companies named in the California lawsuit to see if they are planning changes to their labeling or product formulations. In a letter to the OCA, Beaumont Products wrote, “Upon being notified that there was a problem with our product, we verified that the problem existed, then took immediate action.” According to Beaumont, it has reformulated their products to remove the problematic ingredient.

The California Attorney General (AG) alleges these companies should have put warning labels on products containing high levels of 1,4-Dioxane, stating that they may cause cancer. The lawsuit states, “Plaintiff alleges that each defendant has known since at least May 29, 2004 that the body washes and gels and liquid dish soaps contain, 1,4-dioxane and that persons using these products are exposed to 1,4-dioxane.”  Per Proposition 65, fines for mislabeled products are as high as $2,500 per day for each violation.