What Proposition 65 is
Proposition 65 is a California law — formally the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 — that requires businesses to warn Californians before exposing them to any of roughly 900 listed chemicals. It applies to anyone selling into California, whether or not the business is located there. We ship from Portland, Oregon, so the law reaches us the moment a package crosses the state line.
Why it appears on plant material
Lead, cadmium, and arsenic occur naturally in soil, and plants take them up through their roots. That's true of kratom and kava the same way it's true of spinach, cacao, rice, turmeric, and sweet potatoes — all of which carry Prop 65 warnings in California.
The threshold that triggers a warning is deliberately conservative. For lead, California sets it at 0.5 micrograms per day, which is 1,000 times below the level the state determined has no observable effect. A warning means the law's reporting threshold may be met. It is not a finding that a product is unsafe, and it is not an FDA or ODA action.
What we actually test for
Every kratom batch we sell is third-party lab tested for heavy metals — lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury — alongside a full microbial profile and alkaloid content. We manufacture under Oregon Department of Agriculture certification with HACCP food-safety protocols.
You can see the numbers for the batch you received. Request the certificate of analysis and we'll send the lab report for your specific lot.
Who should pay attention to this
If you are pregnant, nursing, or trying to conceive, talk to your physician before consuming any botanical product — that advice stands independently of Prop 65. The same goes for anyone taking medication or managing heart disease, high blood pressure, or a liver condition.
Questions
California's own explanation of the law lives at P65Warnings.ca.gov/food. For anything about a specific product or batch, get in touch or call 1-844-882-3133 — we'd rather answer it than have you guess.
See also: Request a COA · Ethnobotanical disclaimer · Shipping restrictions · Terms of use