On October 5, 2021, California adopted legislation (A.B. 1200) to regulate perfluorinated alkyl substance (“PFAS”) in food contact materials and articles derived from plant fibers as well as requiring information for cookware. The statute requires that manufacturers of “cookware” sold in the state list the presence of chemicals on the label of the product if it contains one of over 2,000 intentionally added chemicals. The provision of the A.B. 1200 have been codified as Cal Health & Saf Code §§ 109010- 109104.

Cal Health & Saf Code §§ 109010 defines “cookware” as:

durable houseware items that are used in homes and restaurants to prepare, dispense, or store food, foodstuffs, or beverages. “Cookware” includes pots, pans, skillets, grills, baking sheets, baking molds, trays, bowls, and cooking utensils.

This is in an extensive list and should include the following items listed on the Zojirushi website: rice cookers, water boilers and warmers, bread makers, coffee makers as they are all involved in preparing or dispensing food, foodstuff or beverages. The law also includes storage which will include the vacuum insulated jars, thermal carafes, and beverage dispensers listed on the Zojirushi website.

Section 1091010 also defines “designated list” as:

the list of chemicals identified as candidate chemicals that exhibit a hazard trait or an environmental or toxicological endpoint that meets the criteria specified in regulations adopted by the Department of Toxic Substances Control pursuant to Article 14 (commencing with Section 25251) of Chapter 6.5 of Division 20, and is published on the Department of Toxic Substances Control’s internet website pursuant to those regulations.

Section 1091010 defines “Intentionally added chemical”

as a chemical that a manufacturer has intentionally added to a product and that has a functional or technical effect in the product, including the components of intentionally added chemicals and intentional breakdown products of an added chemical that also have a functional or technical effect in the product.

Section 1091010 defines “Manufacturer” as either:

(1) A person or entity who manufactures the cookware and whose name appears on the product label.

(2) A person or entity who the cookware is manufactured for or distributed by, identified by the product label pursuant to the federal Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1451 et seq.).

It seems that both of these definitions would apply to Zojirushi, but specific details of their manufacturing process would be required to confirm.

Finally, the Section defines “Product label” as:

a display of written, printed, or graphic material that appears on, or is affixed to, the exterior of a product, or its exterior container or wrapper that is visible to a consumer, if the product has an exterior container or wrapper.

Cal Health & Saf Cod § 1091011 requires that starting on January 1, 2024:

a manufacturer of cookware sold in the state that contains one or more intentionally added chemicals present on the designated list in the handle of the product or in any product surface that comes into contact with food, foodstuffs, or beverages shall list the presence of those chemicals on the product label. The list of intentionally added chemicals shall be introduced by the phrase “This product contains:”, and shall include on the product label a statement, in both English and Spanish, that reads: “For more information about chemicals in this product, visit”, followed by both of the following:

(1) An internet website address for a web page that provides all of the information required by Section 1091012.

(2) A quick response (QR) code or other machine-readable code, consisting of an array of squares, used for storing an internet website for a web page that provides all of the information required by Section 109012.

(b) A manufacturer of cookware sold in the state shall ensure that the statement required on the product label by subdivision (a) is visible and legible to the consumer, including on the product listing for online sales.

Section 109011 also contains an exemption to this requirement if:

(A) The surface area of the cookware cannot fit a product label of at least two square inches.

(B) The cookware does not have either of the following:

(i) An exterior container or wrapper on which a product label can appear or be affixed.

(ii) A tag or other attachment with information about the product attached to the cookware.

If an exemption applies then the manufacturer “shall ensure that the statement otherwise required on a product label by subdivision is included on the product listing for online sales pursuant.

Cal Health & Saf Cod § 1091012 requires that starting on January 1, 2023:

A manufacturer of cookware sold in the state that contains one or more intentionally added chemicals present on the designated list in the handle of the product or in any cookware surface that comes into contact with food, foodstuffs, or beverages shall post on the internet website for the cookware all of the following:

(a) A list of all chemicals in the cookware that are also present on the designated list.

(b) The names of the authoritative list or lists referenced by the Department of Toxic Substances Control in compiling the designated list on which each chemical in the cookware is present.

(c) A link to the internet website for the authoritative list or lists identified pursuant to subdivision (b)

The list of chemicals that will trigger the requirements of Section 1091011 and 1090112 is long. The designated list is defined by the statute in Section 1091010. The designated list includes chemicals identified by California's Department of Toxic Substances Control (“DTSC”) as candidate chemicals that “exhibit a hazard trait or an environmental or toxicological endpoint” under the criteria established by California’s so-called “Green Chemistry” law, Cal. Health & Safety Code § 25251, and its implementing regulations, 22 CCR § 69502.2. That candidate chemical list is drawn up based on DTSC’s discretion under the parameters described in § 69502.2(b), and on the following lists:

a. Chemicals known to cause cancer and/or reproductive toxicity that are listed under Health and Safety Code section 25249.8 of the California Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986 (i.e., Proposition 65);

b. Chemicals classified by the European Union as carcinogens, mutagens, and/or reproductive toxicants Categories 1A and 1B in Annex VI to Regulation (EC) 1272/2008;

c. Chemicals included in the European Union candidate list of Substances of Very High Concern in accordance with Article 59 of Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 on the basis of Article 57(f) for endocrine disrupting properties;

d. Chemicals for which a reference dose or reference concentration has been developed based on neurotoxicity in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System;

e. Chemicals that are identified as “carcinogenic to humans,” likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” or Groups A, B1, or B2 carcinogens in the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Integrated Risk Information System;

f. Chemicals that are identified as “known to be” or “reasonably anticipated to be” a human carcinogen in the 13th Report on Carcinogens, United States Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Toxicology Program;

g. Chemicals included in the European Union candidate list of Substances of Very High Concern in accordance with Article 59 of Regulation (EC) 1907/2006 on the basis of Article 57(d), Article 57(e), or Article 57(f) for persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic, or very persistent and very bioaccumulative properties;

h. Chemicals that are identified as Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Inherently Toxic to the environment by the Canadian Environmental Protection Act Environmental Registry Domestic Substances List;

i. Chemicals classified by the European Union as respiratory sensitizers Category 1 in Annex VI to Regulation (EC) 1272/2008;

j. Groups 1, 2A, and 2B carcinogens identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer;

k. Neurotoxicants that are identified in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Toxic Substances Portal, Health Effects of Toxic Substances and Carcinogens, Nervous System;

l. Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic Priority Chemicals that are identified by the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Waste Minimization Program;

m. Reproductive or developmental toxicants identified in Monographs on the Potential Human Reproductive and Developmental Effects, National Toxicology Program, Office of Health Assessment and Translation;

n. United States Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory Persistent, Bioaccumulative, and Toxic Chemicals that are subject to reporting under the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act section 313; and/or

o. Washington Department of Ecology’s Persistent, Bioaccumulative, Toxic Chemicals identified in the Washington Administrative Code, title 173, chapter 173-333.

p. Chemicals for which Notification Levels, as defined in Health and Safety Code section 116455, have been established by the California Department of Public Health;

q. Chemicals for which primary Maximum Contaminant Levels have been established and adopted under section 64431 or section 64444 of chapter 15 of title 22 of the California Code of Regulations;

r. Chemicals identified as Toxic Air Contaminants under sections 93000 and 93001 of title 17 of the California Code of Regulations;

s. Chemicals that are identified as priority pollutants in California Water Quality Control Plans under section 303(c) of the federal Clean Water Act and in section 131.38 of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or identified as pollutants by California or the United States Environmental Protection Agency for one or more water bodies in California under section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act and section 130.7 of title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations;

t. Chemicals that are identified with non-cancer endpoints and listed with an inhalation or oral Reference Exposure Level by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment under Health and Safety Code section 44360(b)(2);

u. Priority Chemicals that are identified under the California Environmental Contaminant Biomonitoring Program;

v. Chemicals that are identified on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Fourth National Report on Human Exposure to Environmental Chemicals and Updated Tables; and/or

w. Chemicals that are identified on Part A of the list of Chemicals for Priority Action, Oslo, and Paris Conventions for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic.

Zojirushi will need to do an extensive search of the list listed by California in this regulation to see if any of the subject chemicals are intentionally added to its subject cookware products sold in California. It seems more then likely that at least one chemical in their products would be implicated.

Cal Health & Saf Cod § 1081013 specifies the January 2023 effective date for internet website, and January 2024 for product labels. The section also specifies that “a manufacturer shall not make a claim that the cookware is free of any specific chemical if the chemical belongs to a chemical group or class identified on the designated list, unless no individual chemical from that chemical group or class is intentionally added to the cookware.”

Finally, Cal Health & Saf Cod § 1081014 specifies that:

Cookware that contains one or more intentionally added chemicals present on the designated list in the handle of the product or in any product surface that comes into contact with food, foodstuffs, or beverages shall not be sold, offered for sale, or distributed in the state unless the cookware and the manufacturer of the cookware comply with this article.