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The production, distribution and sale in the United States of many of the Company's products are subject to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act; the Occupational Safety and Health Act; the Lanham Act; various environmental statutes; and various other federal, state and local statutes regulating the production, transportation, sale, safety, advertising, labeling and ingredients of such products.
A California law requires that any person who exposes another to a carcinogen or a reproductive toxicant must provide a warning to that effect. Because the law does not define quantitative thresholds below which a warning is not required, virtually all food manufacturers are confronted with the possibility of having to provide warnings on their food products due to the presence of trace amounts of defined substances. Regulations implementing the law exempt manufacturers from providing the required warning if it can be demonstrated that the defined substances occur naturally in the product or are present in municipal water used to manufacture the product. The Company has assessed the impact of the law and its implementing regulations on its soft drink products and other products and has concluded that none of its products currently requires a warning under the law. The Company cannot predict whether, or to what extent, food industry efforts to minimize the law's impact on foods will succeed; nor can the Company predict what impact, either in terms of direct costs or diminished sales, imposition of the law will have.
Bottlers of the Company's beverage products presently offer non-refillable containers in all areas of the United States and Canada. Many such bottlers also offer refillable containers, although overall U.S. sales in refillable containers are relatively limited. Measures have been enacted in various localities and states which require that a deposit be charged for certain non-refillable beverage containers. The precise requirements imposed by these measures vary. Deposit proposals have been introduced in other states and localities and in Congress, and the Company anticipates that similar legislation may be introduced in the future at both the state and the federal level.
All of the Company's facilities in the United States are subject to federal, state and local environmental laws and regulations. Compliance with these provisions has not had, and the Company does not expect such compliance to have, any material adverse effect upon the Company's capital expenditures, net income or competitive position.