Held v. CCA Industries, Inc.

The parties involved in the case Held v. CCA Industries, Inc. executed a Consent Judgment on April 6, 2017.  In this matter, citizen enforcer Anthony E. Held, Ph.D., P.E. alleged that CCA Industries, Inc. (“CCA”) sold sunscreen containing the chemical benzophenone in the State of California without providing the requisite health hazard warnings.  

As part of the agreement, CCA agreed not to sell any sunscreen in California after June 1, 2018 unless the sunscreen contains no more than 50 parts per million (“ppm”) of benzophenone when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  As of June 1, 2020 the sunscreen shall contain no more than 35 ppm of benzophenone when analyzed using state or federally approved testing methodologies.  Should CCA provide Held with certification by June 15, 2018 that all sunscreen sold in California meets the final reformulation standard, Held has agreed to waive a portion of the civil penalty that would otherwise be applied.

The Consent Judgment required settlement payments of up to $70,000, divided therein between civil penalties, 75% of which are paid to California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, and compensation to whistleblower Englander and his counsel for their successful enforcement of this matter in the public interest.