What's Up with Prop 65? (And Why You Shouldn't Freak Out)

California Proposition 65 (Prop 65)

So, listen up, Californians. We’re Barnana, the kings and queens of organic goodness. We sling bananas, plantains, and cassava like it’s our job…well, because IT IS. 

Now here’s the deal. Thanks to California’s favorite party pooper, Prop 65, we gotta slap some warnings on our bags. The Prop 65 list now covers both plantain and cassava, all because lead is naturally present in soil from our mother earth. But, don’t sweat it, it’s just nature doing its thing. We’re dotting our i’s and crossing our t’s, listing every single ingredient on our bags and website. Because we’re not just about tasty snacks; we’re about keeping you healthy and feeling good, too. 

Prop 65 is a law specific to California, requiring businesses to warn their consumers of products that may contain trace amounts of over NINE-HUNDRED possible chemicals, including lead. Sounds like the state’s way of just keeping us all on our toes. A warning label is required to be displayed on any product containing these certain chemicals and does not restrict the sale of these products. The Prop 65 list is always changing, adding new chemicals, and sometimes booting out the old ones that are no longer a concern. Prop 65 restrictions on lead are, in certain instances, up to 1,000 times lower than the EPA’s “No Significant Risk Levels.” Prop 65 started with good intentions, however, it was written obscurely. So, let’s be real here. These warnings? They’re like background noise in a crowded room. Everyone sees ‘em, but who really pays attention? This lets some crafty lawyers cash in by filing notices about lead content in food, aiming for big settlements. So, sorry if we’re raining on the parade, but blame it on the lawyers and their love for fine print. Now, Barnana and many other companies are unfortunately forced to provide warnings like these to all California customers: WARNING: Consuming this product can expose you to chemicals including lead and lead compounds, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information go to www.P65Warnings.ca.gov/food.

We’re Barnana, and while we have to play by the rules, we’re still here to deliver the best organic snack you’ll ever munch on. So go ahead, keep snacking, stay informed, and remember we’ve got your back, one delicious bite at a time.

The Future

In 2021, Barnana deepened our commitment to organic farmers and producers by acquiring our Latin American supply and operations chain. This ensures that the people we rely on – and who rely on us – can count on us far into the future.

We took this step to cement a long and fruitful partnership built on mutual respect and shared values. We are excited about the expertise, skills and passion every person on our global Barnana team brings to our shared mission. 

Looking ahead, that mission will continue unabated – all of us working in one company dedicated to putting people and the planet first.

Protecting People & The Planet

What’s a B Corp?

Barnana is proud to be a certified B Corp company that strives every day to make business a force for good! Good for the people who grow and produce our delicious snacks, good for the environment, and good for you, our amazing Barnana community. 

Certified B Corps work toward reduced inequality, lower levels of poverty, a healthier environment, stronger communities and the creation of more good jobs. It just so happens that we believe in all of those things! 

The bottom line is that B Corp companies put purpose before profit. Barnana’s founding purpose was to take wholesome organic bananas that would have been wasted and turn them into super healthy snacks you can bring with you anywhere. We’ve supported indigenous farmers, regenerative farming and sustainable practices every step of the way.

As our product line has grown, we’ve never lost sight of what matters most to us and our customers. We work hard to live up to our ideals, and we rep our B Corp badge of honor on ALL of our packaging because it shows that we “walk the walk” when it comes to our guiding purpose, our amazing people and our precious planet. 

You can find out more about Certified B Corporations at https://bcorporation.net/

Farm-To-Shelf Supply Chain

The journey our organic bananas and plantains make from small farms in Latin America to the shelves of your favorite grocery store is a testament to the power of partnership and commitment. 

From the moment Barnana’s founders discovered that perfectly good bananas were going to waste because local farmers couldn’t always find buyers willing to go the extra mile (often literally), we knew what our mission had to be:

1. To source organic bananas and plantains from the many smaller, more remote and often Indigenous farms in Latin America struggling to get their produce to market.

1. To provide our farming partners with a reliable, predictable source of income so they could improve their lives now and make plans for the future.

1. To help other area farmers understand the advantages and implement the practices that would enable them to transition to organic farming.

1. To honor our commitments and grow our partnerships in ways that are good for the people, products and planet we all care so much about. 

That’s the promise we made to ourselves and our partners. And we’re sticking to it.

What The Heck Is Upcycling?

Upcycling is so much a part of who we are and what we do that sometimes we forget that it’s not necessarily part of everyone else’s every-day life. With that in mind, here’s a quick primer on what upcycling is all about here at Barnana.

When our founders went searching for the world’s finest bananas, they were shocked to discover that many small indigenous farmers of organic, regeneratively farmed bananas couldn’t get their wonderfully flavorful, tree-ripened bananas to market! Bunches and bunches of tasty, nutritious fruit were going to waste, season after season.

Determined to change that wasteful cycle, a banana-saving, planet-friendly new business was born! Barnana has from the first sourced our bananas (and now our plantains) from small organic farms in the Amazon. We’ve provided remote, family-owned farms with a reliable market for their precious produce. That’s good for them, good for us, good for you – and good for the planet!

Given the choice, the vast majority of consumers want to see food waste reduced. Upcycling is a great way to make our food systems more efficient, more equitable and more sustainable. Turns out it’s also the best possible way to make snacks that are sustainably delicious!    

REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE: WHY CARE?

Nana’s Story

Meet Nana! She’s that mischievous little spider monkey you’ve noticed swinging from our logo and playfully peering out at you from our packaging. She was imagined for us and emerged from the brain of pioneering Brazilian street artist, Speto. His art speaks to our renegade spirit and Nana speaks to our love of nature, a match made in snack heaven!

Spider monkeys live in the jungle in South and Central America. They are protected in Ecuador, which is where our organic bananas and organic plantains come from! Monkeys like Nana prefer to eat mostly fruit and spend their days swinging from tree to tree on their super-long limbs and prehensile tail, searching for whatever tasty treat the jungle might offer.

The scientific name for the kind of spider monkey that lives in Ecuador translates to “imperfect!” Imagine, someone thinking Nana isn’t perfect just because she doesn’t have thumbs. We’re in the business of helping the world see how beautiful things labeled “imperfect” can be. She’s the PERFECT fit for us, thumbs or no.

Nana is here to share the tasty bounty of the jungle with the world and show us all how things labeled “imperfect” by the rest of the world can actually be the most wonderful and surprising.

Fun Facts:

• Spider monkeys hug one another by wrapping their tails around each other!
• Spider monkeys have really great memories, and always remember where they found the best fruit in the past.
• Spider monkeys can live up to 22 years!