Essential Takeaways
- Our founder, Kat, sent Ritual’s Traceable Wellness Advocacy Roadmap to Congress, urging them to address key safety and efficacy issues in the industry.
- It has been almost 30 years since major legislation, and the supplement market has grown 20x in size.
- With over 95,000 products on the market today, there is an opportunity to take real action, like setting health-protective limits for heavy metals in our category and clearly defining how brands can use terms like “clinically studied”.
SB 646: Prenatal Safety & Testing Transparency
CA Senate Committee on Environmental Quality
April 30th, 2025
Chair Blakespear and Committee Members,
My name is Lindsay Dahl and I am the Chief Impact Officer at Ritual, a California-based company setting a new standard for safety and efficacy in supplements.
Women deserve prenatal vitamins that are safe and effective—proven, not just promised—because trusting what goes in your body isn’t a privilege, we believe it’s a right.
We strongly urge your support for SB 646, which would require manufacturers of prenatal vitamins to test for heavy metals and disclose those results publicly. This legislative proposal is not only good for consumers, it also makes good business sense.
First, traceability and transparency drive market growth.
Ritual demonstrates that when companies invest in rigorous testing and openly share results, consumer confidence increases along with sales. In direct response to our transparency, we have become the #1 prenatal vitamin in Target, Amazon, Whole Foods and through our direct to consumer business.
Second, standardized testing requirements would create a level playing field.
Currently, no comprehensive federal safety limits exist for heavy metals in prenatal vitamins, unfairly placing the burden on women to navigate a complicated market with limited transparency. Ritual invests in heavy metal testing across raw materials and finished goods for our prenatal vitamins and we share results publicly, neither of which is required under federal GMP. SB 646 would ensure all companies adhere to simple transparency standards and create a powerful incentive for brands to take heavy metal contamination seriously. This bill would provide a simple regulatory framework that allows businesses to plan and invest in testing with confidence.
Third, this legislation positions California as a leader in protecting women’s health especially during critical windows like the trying to conceive phase and pregnancy.
A recent NIH study found 98% of women took at least one supplement or prenatal vitamin during pregnancy.1 This strong adherence to taking prenatals, combined with the documented issues with heavy metal contamination, illustrates the importance of making sure these products are as safe as possible. The choice is clear: SB 646 protects women’s health and strengthens consumer confidence in California's supplement industry.
Women and future generations deserve this diligence.
Thank you.
Lindsay Dahl
Chief Impact Officer
Ritual
How you can support
Live in California? Contact your representative by filling out our email action.
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