Food safety: infant formula.

Aluminum is no longer included in the list of elements that infant formula must be tested for. The testing requirement now covers only arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

The definition of 'toxic elements' (which included aluminum) is removed entirely. The bill now uses only the term 'heavy metals,' defined as arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

All references to testing for 'toxic elements' are changed to testing for 'heavy metals,' reflecting the narrower list of covered substances.

Assembly Member Gipson is added as principal coauthor of the bill.

The defined term 'toxic elements' (aluminum, arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury) is replaced with a new defined term 'heavy metals' (arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury). Aluminum is no longer part of the defined list.

A new definition is added: 'Heavy metals' means arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury.

Because the testing requirement references the defined term, manufacturers are now required to test for heavy metals (four elements) rather than toxic elements (five elements), removing aluminum from the mandatory monthly testing obligation.

Cross-references are simplified (e.g., 'subparagraph (A) paragraph (1)' changed to 'paragraph (1)'), the phrase 'For Commencing January 1, 2028' is corrected to 'Commencing January 1, 2028', and 'disclose product information' is shortened to 'disclose information.'

Brand owner consumer disclosure obligations (website posting of toxic element test results and QR code labeling) now commence on January 1, 2028, rather than taking effect immediately upon the bill's enactment.

A new requirement states that the information posted on the brand owner's website must be made available to consumers without requiring them to provide a UPC number, lot number, or proof of purchase.

The brand owner disclosure section now explicitly clarifies that it applies to final infant formula products sold by a retailer, sold online, or sold directly to consumers, removing any ambiguity about which sales channels are covered.

Assembly Member Lee was added as a coauthor alongside Assembly Member Calderon.

The manufacturer testing requirement was restructured from a 'comply with both of the following' format into separate numbered paragraphs, and all definition numbering was cleaned up to remove duplicate sub-numbers.

New definition of 'brand owner' as the person who owns or licenses the most prominent trademark on the product label, explicitly excluding contract manufacturers from this role

New definition of 'manufacturer' covering both brand owners who manufacture and third-party manufacturers who do not own the brand

Consumer disclosure obligations (website publication of toxic element levels, QR codes on labels linking to test results) are now imposed on the 'brand owner' rather than the 'manufacturer,' expanding accountability to companies that own brands but outsource production

New subdivision (e) requires both manufacturers and brand owners to provide test results to the state department upon request; non-manufacturing brand owners may comply by providing their contracted manufacturer's test results

Section reorganized from two main subdivisions (b, c) into four (b through e), separating testing requirements, consumer disclosure, laboratory criteria, and government reporting into distinct provisions