A Required Warning for California Consumers
If you're visiting this page, you’re likely here because you’ve seen the warning sticker on your JetPack Ready-to-Blend Smoothie or Protein Smoothie packet, indicating that the product contains chemicals known to pose health risks. You may have seen this same label on other consumer products sold in California, such as those sold at Starbucks, grocery stores, amusement parks, and many other locations. We understand this warning is concerning, and sincerely appreciate that you’re taking the time to learn exactly what it means.
Before we go any further, we want you to know with confidence that our JetPacks are safe to consume. But we — along with thousands of other food and supplement companies selling in California — are required by law to provide this warning to comply with a controversial California law known as Proposition 65.
What exactly is California Proposition 65?
In 1986, California enacted the law known as Proposition 65 (aka “Prop 65”), which requires cancer and birth defect warnings on products containing any of the more than 900 substances identified by the state of California. It’s important to note that no other state has such a law.
Many of the elements that require Prop 65 labeling are naturally occurring minerals that are present in soil and, as such, are absorbed by plants grown in that soil, which is completely natural and unavoidable. However, Prop 65 requires this warning in all cases except those where the exposure to the chemical is at least 1,000 times lower than the level of exposure that has been scientifically shown to have no negative effect on humans. This extremely rigid standard is what makes Prop 65 so controversial, because even if a product contains a substance that is naturally occurring and found in only trace amounts that fall well below Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), European Union (“EU”) and World Health Organization (“WHO”) guidelines, as well as internationally recognized standards for dietary supplements (known as “ANSI 173”), we still have to include this warning on our products, as do thousands of other companies.
How are our JetPacks affected by Prop 65?
According to Prop 65 standards, our JetPacks require this warning due to minute amounts of naturally occurring lead and cadmium, which are elements found in things like fruit and vegetables that get absorbed through the soil. Please understand that we do not add lead or cadmium to our products. We use only naturally grown, plant-based ingredients, which happen to contain these trace amounts of naturally occurring lead and cadmium from the soil.
To break it down by numbers, Prop 65 requires this warning if any product dosage exposes the consumer to lead in an amount greater than 0.5 micrograms per day (known as the “maximum allowable dose level,” or “MADL”), and cadmium in an amount greater than 4.1 micrograms MADL. Many foods we consume daily also have trace levels of lead and cadmium, including dairy, grains, meats, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, as well as canned and prepared foods. In many cases, these common foods exceed the established Prop 65 warning standards.
Are JetPacks truly safe?
YES! JetPack Ready-to-Blend Smoothies are perfectly safe to consume. Each pouch contains natural ingredients and freeze-dried fruit and vegetables that are manufactured under the strictest testing and quality-assurance protocols, which include stringent lead and other heavy metal testing. In fact, our manufacturing partner holds third-party audit certifications, which means they operate a clean and safe facility with good manufacturing practices (known as “GMPs”) that have been verified by an external authority. (If you’re interested, you can learn more about these annual safety audits here.)
It bears repeating that it is unavoidable to sometimes find perfectly healthy trace amounts of naturally occurring lead and cadmium from the soil in food and supplements. You can rest assured that you can safely blend and enjoy our delicious JetPack smoothies anytime you want to fuel up, either at home or on the go.
If you have any questions about Proposition 65 that we haven’t covered above, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Customer Experience team. We’re always here for you.