California Environmental Attorney, James T. Dufour to Address Proposition 65 at the American Association of Candy Technologists 2016 National Technical Seminar
SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 16, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- California's controversial consumer product warning label law will be the subject of a seminar presentation by James T. Dufour, who campaigned against the Proposition 65 Initiative in 1986, represented clients against government and citizen suits, campaigned for reforms, and advised businesses on how to avoid liability under this vexatious statute for three decades. The presentation is on September 20, 2016 at the AACT National Technical Seminar in Oak Brook, Illinois. Dufour's Proposition 65 practice reflects the oddest of bedfellows in that he settled As You Sow v. Roger Fieldman, D.D.S. and 17,000 other dental offices on behalf of the California Dental Association, and now consults with candy makers on this law. The problem confronted by confectioners is that candy bearing a warning stating, "This product contains chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, and other reproductive harm" cannot possibly be sold to consumers, so warnings typically employed to satisfy this law (as in the case of dental offices and manufacturers of industrial strength products, cements, building materials, paints, and other chemical materials) are non-sensical. Instead, candy makers and/or their retailer distributors must be able to prove that a consumer's daily dose exposure level to a Proposition 65 chemical does not exceed the de minimis safe harbor level set by the State. In food products, this dilemma is triggered by the natural, and sometimes non-natural occurrence of trace amounts of Proposition 65-regulated substances—like lead, arsenic, cadmium, etc. found in soil that absorb into grown candy ingredients.
Dufour's presentation will cover liability avoidance, including understanding this law and its applicable regulations, sources of information, and design of "a compliance without warnings" strategy and testing programs. He will also cover the realities of, and tactics that can be employed once a business is targeted by a citizen enforcer as a Proposition 65 offender, and examples of reforms and potential measures to eliminate or reduce abuse of this law. Dufour's practice, which focuses exclusively on California occupational, environmental, and consumer regulatory law and the differences from federal or international requirements, is located in Sacramento, and can be contacted at Dufour Law ([email protected]; www.dufourlegal.com).
To register for the AACT Technical Seminar, visit www.aactcandy.org.
CONTACT: 916-553-3111, [email protected]
SOURCE Dufour Law
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