Is the law failing your dinner plate?
This is Sandra Tsing Loh with the Loh Down on Science.
California allows some amounts of toxins in foods without warnings. The catch? Legal limits assume everyone eats the same way.
Shahir Masri and team from University of California, Irvine compared various cultural diets to state safety standards. They looked at staples like rice, spices, and snacks known to carry toxins like lead.
And? They found a massive divide. Latinos consume more tamarind candy. West Asians eat more stuffed grape leaves. Indians use nearly nine grams of spices daily!
The state limits on toxins are based on – supposedly – general diets.
But not everyone eats Wonder Bread and chicken ‘tendies!’
THAT meal should be illegal!
Reference: Masri, S., Nasla, S., Payán, D. D., & Wu, J. (2025). Assessing Dietary Consumption of Toxicant-Laden Foods and Beverages by Age and Ethnicity in California: Implications for Proposition 65. Nutrients, 17(19), 3149. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17193149