The Pure Synergy vitamins lawsuit on record is a single 2013 California Proposition 65 case brought by the Environmental Research Center against The Synergy Company of Utah, LLC over lead content in three of its supplements. The company settled for $160,000 and agreed to reformulate or add warnings to the covered products. A separate Prop 65 notice filed in 2022 over another Pure Synergy product was withdrawn about five weeks later without any enforcement action, and no other lawsuits against the company appear in available public records.
The 2013 Lead Lawsuit and Settlement
The Environmental Research Center (ERC), a private enforcement organization, first served a 60-day Prop 65 notice in June 2011. When the matter did not resolve, ERC filed suit on July 5, 2013 in the Superior Court of California, County of Alameda (Case No. RG13686687).1California Attorney General. Stipulated Consent Judgment, Environmental Research Center v. The Synergy Company of Utah, LLC
Three products were named:
- Vita Synergy for Men (later renamed Organic Vita-Min-Herb for Men)
- Vita Synergy for Women (later renamed Organic Vita-Min-Herb for Women)
- Pure Synergy, the company’s flagship green superfood powder
The parties resolved the case with a stipulated consent judgment. The Synergy Company agreed to pay $160,000, made up of $25,956 in civil penalties (split between California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and ERC), $31,447 to reimburse ERC’s enforcement costs, $73,955 to ERC in lieu of further civil penalties (including a $3,892 donation to the nonprofit Women’s Voices for the Earth), and $24,750 in attorneys’ fees.1California Attorney General. Stipulated Consent Judgment, Environmental Research Center v. The Synergy Company of Utah, LLC
The judgment also imposed an ongoing injunction. Covered products must not expose a consumer to more than 0.5 micrograms of lead per day, or they must carry a compliant Proposition 65 warning. The agreement carved out an allowance for lead that occurs naturally in specific mineral ingredients such as calcium, ferrous fumarate, and zinc oxide. The company had five months from the effective date to come into compliance.1California Attorney General. Stipulated Consent Judgment, Environmental Research Center v. The Synergy Company of Utah, LLC
The 2022 Notice That Was Withdrawn
On January 11, 2022, Keep America Safe and Beautiful, represented by the Law Offices of Stephanie Sy, filed Prop 65 Notice No. 2022-00064. It named both Amazon.com, Inc. and Synergy of Utah, LLC, and it alleged that Pure Synergy Superfood powder (6.3 oz, product code 852971004774) contained lead without the required warning.2California Attorney General. 60-Day Notice of Violation, Notice 2022-00064
The notice was withdrawn on February 16, 2022, roughly five weeks after filing. The Attorney General’s public record shows no lawsuit, settlement, or enforcement action tied to it, and no reason for the withdrawal is stated in the filing.2California Attorney General. 60-Day Notice of Violation, Notice 2022-00064
Independent Lab Testing Since Then
No later lawsuit has surfaced, but independent heavy-metal testing has. The consumer advocacy group Lead Safe Mama, LLC has published results on two Pure Synergy products. In January 2025, it reported that Pure Synergy Bone Renewal, a plant-based bone-health supplement, tested positive for lead, cadmium, and arsenic.3Lead Safe Mama. Pure Synergy Bone Renewal Supplement In April 2026, it published results for the Pure Synergy PureNatal Multivitamin, which also tested positive for lead, cadmium, and arsenic, with no mercury detected.4Lead Safe Mama. Pure Synergy PureNatal Multivitamin
Lead Safe Mama compared the results to action levels proposed in the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, a bill that was never enacted. The organization acknowledged that the detected levels are “entirely legal” under current federal regulations and argued that the supplement industry should be held to a higher standard.4Lead Safe Mama. Pure Synergy PureNatal Multivitamin A commenter on the Bone Renewal article noted that the manufacturer publishes its own test results, which reportedly showed different levels.3Lead Safe Mama. Pure Synergy Bone Renewal Supplement No recall, regulatory action, or lawsuit has followed from either test.
How Prop 65 Supplement Cases Work
Most Prop 65 cases against supplement makers, including the 2013 Synergy case, are brought by private plaintiffs rather than the state, using a “private attorney general” provision in the law. The plaintiff serves a 60-day notice; if the company does not resolve the issue in that window, a lawsuit can follow.
Settlements typically require the manufacturer either to reformulate the product so daily lead exposure stays below 0.5 micrograms or to add a compliant warning label. Civil penalties, enforcement costs, and attorneys’ fees make up the financial side, with the state generally receiving 75 percent of civil penalties and the private plaintiff keeping the rest. These agreements almost always state that the company denies the allegations and that the resolution is not an admission of wrongdoing.5California Attorney General. Proposition 65 Settlement Agreement Food and dietary supplements are the most common target: in the first quarter of 2025, they accounted for 34 percent of Prop 65 settlements and judgments, with metals led by lead cited in 61 percent of cases.6Bureau Veritas. CA Proposition 65 Settlements/Judgements Summary Q1 2025