Gruma resolves California lawsuit claiming that tortilla chips and other starchy products require Proposition 65 warning

Client(s) Gruma Corporation

On behalf of Gruma Corporation, the manufacturer of Mission Food tortilla chips and similar food products, Jones Day successfully resolved a lawsuit filed under California's Proposition 65 by the California Attorney General's office, alleging that Gruma's tortilla chips (as well as scores of other starchy products manufactured by other defendants) require a Proposition 65 warning because they contain acrylamide, a chemical that naturally occurs when starchy food products are heated above a certain temperature.

The FDA has studied acrylamide extensively and has not advised people to stop eating foods that contain acrylamide. The California Attorney General also has acknowledged that Gruma does not add acrylamide to any of its products. Nevertheless, Gruma has agreed, in a court-approved Consent Judgment, to reduce the acrylamide levels in its tortilla chips, consistent with the reductions major snack food companies and other food manufacturers have agreed to make.

State of California ex rel. Brown v. Snyder's of Hanover, Inc., et al., Case No. RG-09455286 (Alameda County Superior Court, California)