Prop 65 notice 2018-00464: Primal Nutrition, LLC

What happened after this notice

Reported to the Attorney General by the party that filed the notice, as of November 12, 2026. A settlement is not an admission and not a finding that anyone broke the law.

1. Settlement, May 22, 2018

   Defendant

   Primal Nutrition, LLC; Primal Nutrition, Inc.

   Case

   Environmental Research Center Inc. v Primal Nutrition, et al

   Court

   Alameda County Superior Court, RG18907843

   Total payments

   $62,500.00

   Civil penalty

   $23,641.00

   Attorney fees and costs

   $21,128.00

   Payment in lieu of penalty

   $17,731.00 (Amounts rounded: Actual amounts: Civil Penalty $23641.24; Attorney fees & costs: $21,127.85; Additional Settlement Payment: $17,730.91. Pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 3203, subdivision (d) and 3204, the ASP will be utilized by ERC for activities that address the same public harm as allegedly caused by Primal Nutrition in this matter. These activities are detailed below and support ERC’s overarching goal of reducing and/or eliminating hazardous and toxic chemicals in dietary supplement products in California. ERC’s activities have had, and will continue to have, a direct and primary effect within the State of California because California consumers will be benefitted by the reduction and/or elimination of exposure to lead in dietary supplements and/or by providing clear and reasonable warnings to California consumers prior to ingestion of the products. Based on a review of past years’ actual budgets, ERC is providing the following list of activities ERC engages in to protect California consumers through Proposition 65 citizen enforcement, along with a breakdown of how ASP funds will be utilized to facilitate those activities: (1) ENFORCEMENT (65-80%): obtaining, shipping, analyzing, and testing dietary supplement products that may contain lead and are sold to California consumers. This work includes continued monitoring and enforcement of past consent judgments and settlements to ensure companies are in compliance with their obligations thereunder, with a specific focus on those judgments and settlements concerning lead. This work also includes investigation of new companies that ERC does not obtain any recovery through settlement or judgment; (2) VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM (10-20%): maintaining ERC’s Voluntary Compliance Program by acquiring products from companies, developing and maintaining a case file, testing products from these companies, providing the test results and supporting documentation to the companies, and offering guidance in warning or implementing a self-testing program for lead in dietary supplement products; and (3) “GOT LEAD” PROGRAM (up to 5%): maintaining ERC’s “Got Lead?” Program which reduces the numbers of contaminated products that reach California consumers by providing access to free testing for lead in dietary supplement products (Products submitted to the program are screened for ingredients which are suspected to be contaminated, and then may be purchased by ERC, catalogued, sent to a qualified laboratory for testing, and the results shared with the consumer that submitted the product). ERC shall be fully accountable in that it will maintain adequate records to document and will be able to demonstrate how the ASP funds will be spent and can assure that the funds are being spent only for the proper, designated purposes described in this Consent Judgment. ERC shall provide the Attorney General, within thirty days of any request, copies of documentation demonstrating how such funds have been spent.)

   Terms

   Stipulated Consent Judgment 3.1: Beginning on the Effective Date (Date Notice of Entry of Judgment served,) Primal Nutrition shall be permanently enjoined from manufacturing for sale in the State of California, “Distributing into the State of California,” or directly selling in the State of California, any Covered Products which expose a person to a “Daily Lead Exposure Level” of more than 0.5 micrograms of lead per day unless it meets the warning requirements under Section 3.2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, so long as Primal Nutrition can document the date of manufacture of a Covered Product, Covered Products manufactured prior to the Effective Date may be distributed or sold without a “Warning” (defined below) by any person after the Effective Date without violation of this Consent Judgment.

   Official document

   PDF at oag.ca.gov

2. Civil Complaint, June 7, 2018

   Defendant

   Primal Nutrition, LLC; Primal Nutrition, Inc.

   Case

   Environmental Research Center Inc. v Primal Nutrition, et al

   Court

   Alameda County Superior Court, RG18907843

   Relief sought

   Warning, Civil Penalty

   Official document

   PDF at oag.ca.gov

3. Judgment, September 4, 2018

   This judgment was entered on a settlement. Its payment is the settlement's payment and not an added one.

   Defendant

   Primal Nutrition, LLC; Primal Nutrition, Inc.

   Case

   Environmental Research Center Inc. vs. Primal Nutrition

   Court

   Alameda County Superior Court, RG18907843

   Total payments

   $62,500.00

   Civil penalty

   $23,641.00

   Attorney fees and costs

   $21,128.00

   Payment in lieu of penalty

   $17,731.00 (Pursuant to California Code of Regulations, title 11, sections 3203, subdivision (d) and 3204, the ASP will be utilized by ERC for activities that address the same public harm as allegedly caused by Primal Nutrition in this matter. These activities are detailed below and support ERC’s overarching goal of reducing and/or eliminating hazardous and toxic chemicals in dietary supplement products in California. ERC’s activities have had, and will continue to have, a direct and primary effect within the State of California because California consumers will be benefitted by the reduction and/or elimination of exposure to lead in dietary supplements and/or by providing clear and reasonable warnings to California consumers prior to ingestion of the products. Based on a review of past years’ actual budgets, ERC is providing the following list of activities ERC engages in to protect California consumers through Proposition 65 citizen enforcement, along with a breakdown of how ASP funds will be utilized to facilitate those activities: (1) ENFORCEMENT (65-80%): obtaining, shipping, analyzing, and testing dietary supplement products that may contain lead and are sold to California consumers. This work includes continued monitoring and enforcement of past consent judgments and settlements to ensure companies are in compliance with their obligations thereunder, with a specific focus on those judgments and settlements concerning lead. This work also includes investigation of new companies that ERC does not obtain any recovery through settlement or judgment; (2) VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE PROGRAM (10-20%): maintaining ERC’s Voluntary Compliance Program by acquiring products from companies, developing and maintaining a case file, testing products from these companies, providing the test results and supporting documentation to the companies, and offering guidance in warning or implementing a self-testing program for lead in dietary supplement products; and (3) “GOT LEAD” PROGRAM (up to 5%): maintaining ERC’s “Got Lead?” Program which reduces the numbers of contaminated products that reach California consumers by providing access to free testing for lead in dietary supplement products (Products submitted to the program are screened for ingredients which are suspected to be contaminated, and then may be purchased by ERC, catalogued, sent to a qualified laboratory for testing, and the results shared with the consumer that submitted the product). ERC shall be fully accountable in that it will maintain adequate records to document and will be able to demonstrate how the ASP funds will be spent and can assure that the funds are being spent only for the proper, designated purposes described in this Consent Judgment. ERC shall provide the Attorney General, within thirty days of any request, copies of documentation demonstrating how such funds have been spent.)

   Terms

   Stipulated Consent Judgment 3.1: Beginning on the Effective Date (Date Notice of Entry of Judgment served,) Primal Nutrition shall be permanently enjoined from manufacturing for sale in the State of California, “Distributing into the State of California,” or directly selling in the State of California, any Covered Products which expose a person to a “Daily Lead Exposure Level” of more than 0.5 micrograms of lead per day unless it meets the warning requirements under Section 3.2. Notwithstanding the foregoing, so long as Primal Nutrition can document the date of manufacture of a Covered Product, Covered Products manufactured prior to the Effective Date may be distributed or sold without a “Warning” (defined below) by any person after the Effective Date without violation of this Consent Judgment.

   Official document

   PDF at oag.ca.gov