Scan, Click, Comply: Prop 65 Omnibus 2026 Amendments Reshape Warning Rules

A public comment period is open through September 7. A link to the proposed amendments is available here.

Although still at the pre-rulemaking stage — meaning no formal regulation has been adopted — these draft amendments could materially reshape how businesses deliver Proposition 65 warnings, particularly in e-commerce. 

Key Proposed Changes

1. New Dual-Warning Requirement for Online Sales

What Changes: Under the proposed amendments, businesses selling products through websites or digital applications (including mobile apps and dedicated sales software) would need to provide both — instead of only one — of the following.

• A warning on the product itself or its packaging (per existing labeling requirements).

• A warning displayed online before the customer completes the purchase—either on the product display page, via a clearly marked hyperlink using the word “WARNING,” or otherwise prominently displayed prior to checkout.

Why It Matters: This change would codify OEHHA’s longstanding guidance (and the position of most enforcers) that both an on-product and an online warning are required, converting that position into an express regulatory mandate. Large retailers and e-commerce platforms may face particular challenges, as they would be required to ensure that every product shipped carries a physical warning label. A warning that a purchaser must search for in general website content would not qualify as prominently displayed. 

2. QR Codes Recognized as a Warning Method

What Changes: The amendments would formally authorize the use of QR codes on labels, signs, shelf tags, or shelf signs as a method of delivering Proposition 65 warnings. Upon scanning, the QR code must link to a web page containing a warning that complies with the full content requirements of the regulations. The QR code must be accompanied by a statement reading: “Proposition 65 Warning for [name of one or more chemicals]. For more information, scan the QR code.” 

Why It Matters: While OEHHA has previously recognized QR codes in informal guidance, this amendment would provide explicit regulatory authority and could offer businesses greater flexibility, especially those with space-limited packaging. 

3. Clarification of the ‘Naturally Occurring’ Exemption

What Changes: Certain chemicals can occur naturally in foods because they are present in soil, water, and the surrounding environment and are absorbed by plants as they grow. Lead in soil is a primary example. The existing regulations provide that consuming food containing a “naturally occurring” listed chemical does not constitute an “exposure” requiring a warning. A chemical is “naturally occurring” under the current language “only to the extent it did not result from any known human activity…not including sowing, planting, irrigation or plowing…” The suggested changes clarify that a listed chemical “which has been extracted or concentrated from any source, such as a plant, may be present in a product as the result of human activity even if the extraction or concentration did not change the Chemical Abstract Services [CAS] Registry Number.”

Why It Matters: This change is intended to clarify that “human activity” may occur even if the CAS number of a chemical does not change during extraction or concentration of that chemical. In other words, companies cannot rely on the “naturally occurring” exemption simply because a chemical’s CAS number remains the same after it has been extracted or concentrated from a natural source — that extraction or concentration itself constitutes “human activity” that removes the chemical from the exemption. The practical implication is that businesses selling food products that contain listed chemicals and that have been extracted or concentrated from natural sources (e.g., plant extracts) may need to provide Prop 65 warnings even if the chemical occurs naturally in the original source material.

Conclusion

Interested parties may submit written comments no later than September 7. ArentFox Schiff’s Consumer Products group will continue to monitor this development and is available to answer any questions you may have. Please feel free to reach out to the authors or any attorney on our team.