Gamma enterprises settles lawsuit over Gfuel energy supplements
Gamma Enterprises, LLC, who was sued by the Environmental Research Center over the lack of warning labels on their GFUEL Energy supplements, has settled the lawsuit and will pay $118,500 and face other stipulations.
Back in November, the ERC filed a lawsuit against Gamma Enterprises, doing business as Gamma Labs, over the amount of lead in their GFUEL Energy supplements. The amount of lead in their products should have required appropriate warning labels according to California’s Proposition 65 statutes.
Proposition 65 was passed in 1986 by the voters to regulate and warn Californian’s of the risks of being exposed to hazardous chemicals that are known to the state to cause cancer.
Some 18 GFUEL Energy supplements tested by a laboratory hired by the ERC were shown to have more than the amount of lead (.5 micrograms) in their products necessary to trigger that a warning must be affixed to product labels and displayed on their website.
Gamma Labs originally offered the ERC a sum of $68,000 to settle the lawsuit, but that number was rejected. The two sides agreed to the $118,500 figure and other regulatory stipulations.
According to the settlement, Gamma Labs will be precluded from manufacturing or selling any of their GFUEL products in the state of California without a warning label if their product continues to have the amount of lead that requires said warning label. Additionally, if Gamma Labs believes their products have more than 15 micrograms in relationship to a person’s daily exposure to lead, they will be required to add the phrase “cancer and” to their warning label.
“Warning: Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including lead which is [are] known to the State of California to cause [cancer and] birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information.”
Some products of Gamma Labs will now be tested for five consecutive years by having five randomly selected samples tested each year with all results being corroborated by a third-party.
Gamma Labs will pay the ERC $118.500 in six monthly payments with $21,226.18 being diverted to the State of California as a civil penalty.