Teamwork!
Jervis & George contacted me yesterday with a response to the testing I reported here this year (2019) and last (2018), testing that was prompted by home testing done by one of my readers who owned these products (a reader who then sent her jars to me for further testing using XRF technology.) Please scroll down to see the company’s full response (which is also a bit of a “Thank you” letter!) These are the types of outcomes we get! We = me +you, my readers. Thank you for participating in this advocacy work to protect children everywhere from unnecessary exposure to Lead in their environment.
Important point to note:
The letter below states that Jervis & George will be introducing their new Lead-free (paint-free) products in November of 2019. I do not recommend buying products from this brand until the new products are available (and ideally until I have had the opportunity to test and report on them.)
If you are new to the concern, please read my original Jervis & George posts here.
Received 4:58 p.m. (PST) – Thursday, September 12, 2019
Dear Tamara,
I hope this email finds you well. I am writing in response to an issue identified on your blog, regarding our baby food jars containing high levels of lead. Firstly, thank you for your concern on this matter. Our number one priority is the health and safety of our customers (and ultimately their bubs!) so we do appreciate you highlighting this matter to your community.
While the article was published in 2018, I have been working extensively with my team to ensure all elements outlined in your post are investigated. To give some background, prior to launching the business, we conducted stringent levels of testing to ensure our products were 100% safe. Post-launch, we received a huge level of interest in the product from South Korea. To be able to sell into this country involved further and more extensive testing by their own standards and safety regulations, which were all completed successfully.
After reading your blog we conducted further safety tests with other factories to ensure that the paint on the jars met FDA approval. However, we are listening to our customers and your feedback and understand that the use of paint for the logo/markings is unnecessary.
To this degree, I am pleased to reveal that from November 1, 2019 we are launching a new range of embossed jars. These jars do not feature any paint. I am confident these newly designed products address all concerns listed in your blog post.
Further to this I’m interested to hear further about your comment that Avent uses lead free paint as from my extensive research it seems that all paint to mark jars/bottles has some capacity of lead. I really would like to learn more on this with you as I am fully committed in ensure we produce the best products for our kids.
Again, thank you for the post as this has made us a better company – I do appreciate you bringing this to my attention. Please be assured that the health, safety and satisfaction of our customers is my focus. Because of this, I am proud of these newly designed products, which I am confident address your feedback.
Thanks,
Georgie
Tamara, Congratulations in making a huge difference for all the fans who will now be able to buy safe products from this company … who I also commend for their action. It’s nice to know that there are still honest people & trustworthy companies in this country.
Thanks for commenting Tina!
Let’s catch up soon. [We were mid-conversation, right? LOL!]
Tamara
Nice job Tamara! Great to see companies like this that admit their mistakes and fix the problem (hopefully).
Thanks for commenting David! Now if only Nuk would follow suit!
https://tamararubin.com/2019/02/another-baby-bottle-with-lead-paint-nuk-glass-bottle-19900-ppm-lead-why-are-regulatory-agencies-ignoring-this-issue/
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
Thanks so much for making an issue of this! I am truly grateful that you took my concern seriously last year! On another note, those Nellam baby food jars that I originally posted about are still being sold at Amazon, and according to my home tests, not only had high lead levels in the paint on them, but, unlike the George & Jervis jars, also had a serious problem with that paint wearing off (and thus posing further/increased risk, since the paint could easily come off onto hands that baby comes into contact with). Anything you can do about that? I believe I sent some of those jars to you, as well, for testing, when I sent the George & Jervis jars. I’d be grateful. I brought up the issue with both companies. The owner of George & Jervis was dismissive at the time (glad she’s come around), while the Nellam folks pretended to take the item out of their inventory (it’s still being sold).
Thank you so much for commenting Alli!
I LOVE having readers like you who are partners in all of this. It’s so gratifying when we create change and get responses like this one (even though they are being a little sideways in not expressly admitting that their products were painted with lead paint – lol!)
I’ll double check on the other jars (There are quite a few things in my queue of things to post about right now… I’ve got a backlog of about 11 months worth of items given all the goings on with my legal case over the past year.)
Tamara
Hello, love your blog. Actually came across it when researching the old Jervis and George Mason Jar cups. I was about to click “check out” when I thought, hmm, maybe I should google this product first just to be sure it’s safe. That was last year. Then I found your post. I can’t believe I almost bought those cups for my toddler. I am so thankful for your post. I’m looking forward to any further testing you do with the new product. I’m interested in buying it, but I don’t feel that comfortable without more testing since the company already went off track with their early version. Thanks again!
Thanks for contacting me. The company actually reformulated and contacted me a few months ago about possibly collaborating in some way with their new products. I have not followed up with them yet. I have not yet tested their new products. You can stay tuned here on the blog for any updates.
T
Hi,
Have you followed up with testing their new products? Are they safe?
They actually created a new product line under a different name. The new line is paint-free. They contacted me directly to say that their new products are now Lead-free and they asked if they could sponsor my work in some way… then CoViD-19 hit and I haven’t followed up with them. 🙂 I have not tested their new products, but overall this was a great response from a company.
Tamara
Hi Tamara,
I bought some of the new branded “Elk and Friends” jars and was worried after reading about all this on your blog. The new version has no paint and the markings and embossed in the glass but I’m still worried. Do you have plans to test the new version any time soon?
Thank you!!
Hello Tamara, what is the name of the new product line of Jervis and George? Thank you.
Hi there!
I don’t know that off the top of my head. Here’s a good alternative: https://amzn.to/2GfEyWB (affiliate link).
Tamara
Hi Tamara, my two kids use their new line, Elk and Friends! Any chance you could test their new line? Thanks so much!!
Also, could you test the widely popular EZPZ mats? These are the most widely used silicone plates by parents these days and so many of my mom friends are interested in getting them tested! Thank you so much!
(ezpz Mini Mat (Gray) – 100% Silicone Suction Plate with Built-in Placemat for Infants + Toddlers – First Foods + Self-Feeding – Comes with a Reusable Travel Bag https://amzn.to/3yEEtTF )
Hi Annie – here’s how the testing here on the site works:
https://tamararubin.com/2019/08/tamara-can-i-send-you-one-of-my-dishes-to-test-for-lead/
Tamara