In Brief: Prop 65 Aloe Vera Listing Update; Beautycounter Sales Soar; More

California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has extended the comment period on its intent to add Aloe vera whole leaf extract to the state’s Proposition 65 list of substances known to the state to cause cancer. Commenters now have until June 9 to share their views on the proposal. OEHHA advises that comments “should be limited to whether [the International Agency for Research on Cancer] has identified the specific chemical or substance as a known or potential human or animal carcinogen.” OEHHA proposed the Prop 65 addition following an IARC report concluding there is sufficient evidence linking Aloe vera whole leaf extract to cancer in animals ([A#02150518005]).

In an amicus curiae brief filed May 26, U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli has advised the Supreme Court to decline review of a lower court case examining whether the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act preempts an unfair competition claim in California regarding the cosmetics/drugs regulatory divide in Athena Cosmetics, Inc. vs. Allergan, Inc. The Solicitor General files such briefs in instances where the federal government has an interest in the legal issue at hand Also see "Supreme Court May Hear Cosmetics Case Exploring Federal Preemption" - HBW Insight, 19 December, 2014.. The Court will officially decide whether to grant or deny the petition at an upcoming conference, though Supreme Court watchers suggest the Court usually follows the Solicitor General’s recommendations