Ella's Flats proactively includes a Proposition 65 warning on our packaging. Here's what that warning means, why it's there, and how we approach ingredient quality and food safety.
WARNING: Can expose you to lead, a carcinogen and reproductive toxicant. See www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.
What is Proposition 65?
California's Proposition 65 — officially the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 — is a "right-to-know" law, not a food-safety law. It requires businesses to warn California consumers before exposing them to any of the roughly 900 chemicals the state has identified as capable of causing cancer or reproductive harm, at exposure levels the state has deliberately set far below the point where any real health risk begins. No other state has a law like it. Prop 65 doesn't ban a product from being sold — it simply requires a warning label once a listed chemical is present above California's official "safe harbor" threshold, regardless of how small that amount is.
Why does this warning appear on Ella's Flats products?
Our crackers are made from real, whole seeds — pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, chia and flax — grown in soil, like every other plant-based food. Lead and cadmium are elements found throughout the earth's crust, present in soil and water virtually everywhere on the planet, including on organic farmland. As seeds grow, their roots draw up nutrients from that soil — and, along with them, trace amounts of whatever minerals happen to be present in the surrounding environment. This isn't unique to our ingredients; it's true of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and seeds across the food supply. We do not add lead, cadmium, or any other Prop 65-listed chemical to our ingredients or our products.
What is bioaccumulation?
Bioaccumulation is the process by which a plant absorbs a substance from its environment faster than it can eliminate it, allowing trace amounts to gradually build up over the growing season. For seeds, that means naturally occurring minerals in soil and water — including trace amounts of lead and cadmium — can accumulate as the plant matures. It's a normal, unavoidable feature of how any crop interacts with the earth it grows in, not a sign of contamination, poor sourcing, or anything added during processing.
How we reduce lead in every bag
Food safety is a higher bar for us than Prop 65 requires. Ella's Flats routinely tests our raw ingredients and finished crackers for heavy metals through independent laboratories to keep trace amounts well below California's Prop 65 safe harbor levels. We source from suppliers who meet current U.S. food safety standards under the FDA's Food Safety Modernization Act, and we continue to monitor our ingredients as growing conditions and harvests change season to season.
The FDA and other health authorities have found that trace, naturally occurring minerals in food are essentially unavoidable and do not, on their own, present a public health risk. The FDA continues to monitor lead and cadmium levels across the food supply, and our products meet those federal standards.
Why we choose to warn
Trace amounts of naturally occurring minerals in the earth can trigger a California warning requirement. Like many natural plant based food products, Ella's Flats has chosen to display the Prop 65 warning proactively.
Learn more
For more on Proposition 65, the full list of chemicals it covers, and how California sets its safe harbor levels, visit the state's Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment at www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
Questions about this warning or about how we test our ingredients? Reach out any time through our Contact page — we're always happy to talk about what goes into every bag of Ella's Flats.