Washington, D.C. – The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), the leading trade association for the dietary supplement and functional food industry, today voiced concern over the California legislature’s passage of Senate Bill 646 and called on Governor Gavin Newsom to consider the unintended consequences of the bill before signing it into law. As written, the legislation will frighten pregnant women away from taking the very supplements they need for a healthy pregnancy and provide incentives for unscrupulous firms to leave out critical nutrients to receive better test results.
SB 646 requires prenatal vitamin manufacturers to test each lot of their products for heavy metals, submit the results to the state, and make those raw test scores public on company websites. Although well-intentioned, these requirements to present raw data with little context will inevitably alarm consumers.
Trace amounts of heavy metals occur naturally in many foods and minerals, including those found in leafy greens, legumes, and cold-water fish. Prenatal vitamins—carefully manufactured to minimize these levels—nevertheless may contain detectable amounts of heavy metals, although providing far less exposure than the very foods women are encouraged to eat.
“By forcing manufacturers to release test results to consumers without sufficient explanation, the bill risks convincing pregnant women that prenatal vitamins are unsafe, when the opposite is true,” said Steve Mister, President and CEO of CRN. Most pregnant women don’t get the recommended requirements of iron, choline, vitamin D or omega-3s from their diets alone. Mister explained, “The danger is that women will either avoid supplements altogether or choose products stripped of critical nutrients like calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc simply to show lower heavy-metal numbers.”
Mister stressed that this is not a hypothetical concern. Research already shows that the vast majority of pregnant women fail to meet nutritional requirements through diet alone. Without supplemental support, risks of nutrient deficiencies increase, undermining both maternal and child health. The association cautioned that SB 646, rather than improving transparency, could ultimately compromise prenatal health by fostering fear and confusion.
While CRN has worked throughout the legislative process to limit the bill’s most damaging effects, the unintended consequences remain. The version headed to Governor Newsom’s desk still means fewer women will receive the critical nutrients they and their babies need.
CRN noted that responsible companies already adhere to federal safety standards and invest heavily in reducing heavy-metal content to the lowest feasible levels. The association underscored that effective transparency must come with education, ensuring consumers understand why trace elements exist, how they compare to everyday foods, and why prenatal vitamins remain essential for healthy pregnancies. By ignoring this balance, SB 646 risks sacrificing clarity and public trust in favor of alarmist disclosures.
CRN has pledged to work with the Governor, legislators, scientists, and public health experts to design a more constructive approach that genuinely informs consumers while protecting their health and ensuring continued access to safe, effective prenatal nutrition.
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About the Council for Responsible Nutrition
The Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN), founded in 1973, is a Washington, D.C.-based trade association representing 180+ dietary supplement and functional food manufacturers, ingredient suppliers, and companies providing services to those manufacturers and suppliers. In addition to complying with a host of federal and state regulations governing dietary supplements and food in the areas of manufacturing, marketing, quality control and safety, our manufacturer and supplier members also agree to adhere to additional voluntary guidelines as well as to CRN’s Code of Ethics. Follow us on Twitter @CRN_Supplements and LinkedIn.