California Proposition 65 titanium dioxide warning ruled not-scientifically justified by a US district court
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EmailA quick summary of Personal Care Products Council v. Rob Bonta, AG of California.
A US district court issued a permanent injunction preventing California from enforcing Proposition 65 warning requirements for certain forms of titanium dioxide used in cosmetics and personal care products.
California evaluated titanium dioxide based on the International Agency for Research on Cancer’s hazard classification. However, there is a clear debate over risk, whether titanium dioxide causes cancer in human. For example, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations provided that titanium dioxide may be safely used in cosmetics. The plaintiff contended that the warning was misleading, rather than advancing public health interests, warning over speculative or conjectural risks dilutes the force of any other warnings.
Under the intermediate scrutiny standard in Central Hudson, the government may restrict or prohibit commercial speech that is neither misleading nor connected to unlawful activity, so long as the governmental interest in regulating the speech is substantial. However, the court noted that compelling businesses “to warn consumers of a potential ‘risk’ never confirmed by any regulatory body … does not advance that interest.”
Read the order here: Personal Care Products Council v. Rob Bonta, AG of California (Aug. 12, 2025)
These types of issues are covered in FSC 811, Food Regulation in the US.
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