Check the bottom of your reusable glass milk bottle… If it says StanPac, chances are it is painted with high-Lead paint.
Introduction (for those new to this website):
Tamara Rubin is a federal-award-winning independent advocate for consumer goods safety and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children, her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005. Since 2009 Tamara has been using XRF testing (a scientific method used by the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission) to test consumer goods for toxicants (specifically heavy metals), including Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, Antimony, and Arsenic. All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable. Items are tested multiple times, to confirm the test results for each component tested. Tamara’s work was featured in Consumer Reports Magazine in February of 2023.
Friday — December 30, 2022
I have written about this issue for years, but now that the LeadSafeMama.com audience has grown, it seemed worth revisiting. The issue: IF you are not in the State of California, and IF you get milk from a dairy (organic milk? Local milk?) that is delivered (or otherwise purchased) in reusable glass bottles and IF the bottom of the bottle has the word StanPac embossed in the glass — the paint on the outside of those bottles is (more-often-than-not) high-Lead paint with Lead levels far above what is considered unsafe in items “intended for use by children.” (Children being the only group deemed worthy of regulatory protection/deemed possible to protect from this extreme neurotoxicant, in our insane “Wild-West/Corporate Interests vs. Human Health — Guess Who Wins?” U.S. public health policy climate!)
But is the Lead paint on the outside of these bottles an actual problem?
Preliminary independent testing (back in early 2021) demonstrated that (as anticipated) there is actually some migration of the Lead from the paint on these bottles (as it deteriorates over time, through the cyclic iterations of the sterilization and cleansing process) to the inside of the bottles. The paint on these bottles will also often test positive with a reactive agent home test kit (a LeadCheck swab). The manufacturer of these bottles has responded with the (perpetually predictable industry fallback — perpetually scientifically debunked) that “it is not harmful, as the amount of migrated Lead in this preliminary testing was a very small amount.”
All United States federal agencies agree there is no safe level of Lead exposure for humans and — given that important fact — there is NO CONCEIVABLY-DEFENSIBLE REASON for StanPac (a company based in Canada) to be using Lead paint on their milk bottles (that they sell to all of our local dairies — in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico) in the modern age (here we are at the dawn of 2023, for Pete’s sake!). This is particularly outrageous considering the fact that they intentionally use Lead-free paint on the milk bottles sold in the State of California (because California requires them to!). So the “Lead-free” option (as with KitchenAid and their stainless “upgrade” paddles) is available, and indeed used by the company — but not across-the-board/ for most of their products.
Note: I have advocated about this issue with specific dairies in Oregon, New Hampshire, and Vermont. I have tested a few examples and found them to be painted with Lead-free paint from the following states: Oregon (in response to the work we did here), California (all California examples that I have tested have been Lead-free), and one example from the State of Washington (in 2022). I have found high-Lead paint on StanPac bottles that were in service with local dairies as late as November of 2021, but have not done a round of testing of their products since November of 2021 and request that readers send me examples of currently in-service StanPac bottles from different states. Please email me if you are interested in sending me a bottle from your state (please do purchase one new and include the receipt when sending it to me so we have evidence that it is a currently in-service bottle — thank you!): TamaraRubin@mac.com
Why this issue is especially egregious
This issue is especially egregious when you consider the demographic purchasing milk in reusable glass bottles IS the demographic of people who are trying to avoid environmental contaminants! StanPac is well aware of this of course and capitalizes on this fact in their marketing materials (check out the two images below from their website today). Consumers purchasing milk in reusable glass bottles (from their local dairies) are — by default! — families looking for safer choices and looking to be better stewards of our environment. For these reusable glass milk bottles (more often than not, filled with organic milk!) to be painted with high-Lead paint (paint with a level of Lead that would be considered blatantly illegal, if applied to any area of a home, or used on a product sold “for use by children“) is nothing short of criminal! I am certain families would not choose to purchase milk in these glass bottles if they were aware the paint was high-Lead content paint.
Continue reading below the two images:
How much Lead is too much Lead?
In the United States, paint is considered ILLEGAL for use on an item intended for use by children if the Lead level in that paint is 90 ppm Lead or higher. The paint on many of these milk bottles is in the range of 20,000 to 40,000 ppm Lead! This is not considered to be illegal, however, because MILK BOTTLES are not considered to be “an item intended for use by children!” (Just take a moment to let that regulatory loophole sink in… again, especially egregious because realistically, the largest “target market demographic” for this milk IS children!) Check out the images below from StanPac that clearly show they know the market for their product is children (in case there was any doubt about this!). Continue reading below the two images.
What there is to do:
- We need to DEMAND that STANPAC stops using Leaded paint. (I am working on a petition and a report template for you to report this to the CPSC, and will share those links here shortly.)
- We need to DEMAND that the United States stops allowing the import of Lead-painted milk bottles from Canada. (If enough of us file a CPSC report, the CPSC might actually pay attention — especially since nearly all reusable glass milk bottles in the United States are manufactured by this one company out of Canada.)
- We need to inform the Canadian government of our outrage over this (for the benefit of both Canadian and U.S. citizens). If anyone can find good contact info for that, please let me know and I will update this article with that information.
- We need to INFORM the small family farms where we purchase our milk that their bottles may be painted with high-Lead paint.
- We need to let those small family farms know that StanPac makes bottles with LEAD-FREE paint for dairies — but that they only do that if it is specifically requested, and that our local small family farms have the option of requesting (demanding?) the Lead-free paint on their bottles.
I suspect that if our local small family farms only knew that their bottles were painted with Lead paint, most would not choose to buy those bottles, and most would demand change. (This is demonstrated by my advocacy work in bringing this issue to the attention of family dairy farms in Oregon, New Hampshire, and Vermont — each of which requested that StanPac use Lead-free paint after learning of my work.) To be clear: StanPac does not let its customers know that the paint they use on most of their bottles is Lead-based paint. They also don’t let their customers (the dairies) know that they have to request Lead-free paint (it’s not offered as an option in their sales process — because how would that look? “Would you like the Lead-based paint on your bottle? Or would you like the Lead-free paint? We offer both!” — LOL!).
Finally: There is a SLIM chance that StanPac has stopped using Lead paint on their products since I last tested one of their (in circulation) Lead painted bottles from Washington State in November of 2021. If that is the case they made NO public announcement of it and (as far as I know) they have not informed their customer base of this change. Prior to publishing this article today I scoured their website and found no mention of Lead-paint (or the removal of Lead-paint from their product offerings), nor of the fact that they expressly use Lead-free paint (which is something one would expect they would want to brag about if they had — in fact — made that shift). This is why I am requesting that LeadSafeMama.com readers send in some new (currently in circulation) StanPac bottles for me to test, so we can determine the current scope of the problem and if any shift has been made to Lead-free paint outside of California and a handful of small local dairies in Oregon, Washington State, New Hampshire, and Vermont.
Here are some of the specific brands of reusable glass milk bottles I have tested. Each of the line items below is a link that has additional details, including the full test results for that bottle.
- An overview article about this issue.
- Washington State (November 2021): Fresh Breeze Organic
- Colorado (June 2021): Longmont Dairy Farm
- Maine (2020): Harris Dairy Farm, Dayton Maine
- Maine (2020): Smiling Hill Farm Dairy
- New Hampshire (2020): Sherman Farm Milk Bottle
- Vermont (2020): Strafford Organic Creamery
- California (2019): Straus Family Creamery — (with black writing)
- Oregon (2018): Garry’s Meadow Fresh — (with red writing)
Check out the images below to confirm if your bottles are made by StanPac or not (compare the logo to the logo on your milk bottles at home). If you want to send me a milk bottle for testing to help demonstrate how widespread this issue is, please let me know.
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Hello,
I just checked one of the bottles of milk in the fridge. We get deliveries to our Illinois home every Friday from Oberweiss. Sure enough, the StanPac logo is right there on the bottom of the bottle. Ugh.
Let me know if you would like me to send you the empty bottle and receipt.
Thank you for your advocacy!
~Mischele
Hi Mischele!
I would love that. I haven’t recently tested a bottle from Illinois. My shipping address (my home! lol):
Tamara Rubin
Lead Safe Mama, LLC
7933 SE 15th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97202
Please include a note with your contact information so I can know to get back to you with the test results too.
Thank you!
T
Hi Tamara,
On January 12, 2023, I sent the following email to Oberweiss. I have yet to hear back from them:
Hello,
I used a “3M Lead Check Swab” to check the paint on the Oberweiss bottle. As you can see from the attached picture, the paint is positive for lead.
According to the WHO, EPA, Centers for Disease Control, the FDA, the Mayo Clinic, and many many others, there is NO SAFE LEVEL OF LEAD.
I am absolutely dumbfounded that in my attempt to buy what I thought was the best quality milk product for my family, I have instead exposed them to years of lead. I cannot begin to tell you how upset I am.
Would you please explain why you are using StanPac bottles?
Are you going to continue to use them?
If so, I can no longer be an Oberweiss customer.
I look forward to hearing from you,
Mischele
I followed up with them this morning (January 22, 2023). I will let you know what -if anything- they say. I have suspended my Oberweiss deliveries.
Thank you!
T
Hey Tamara,
I don’t get bottled milk in my home but upon checking StanPac’s website I see they also “label” soda and alcohol bottles and cans, but more importantly kid focused item of ice cream packaging – specifically Chapman’s Ice Cream in Canada and Tillamook (sp?) in US (along with others of both small and large companies). As those packages are combined plastic and paper/cardboard, I am wondering if you have ever tested that type of material?
Curious to hear your thoughts as I have a container of Chapman’s in my freezer right now.
Thanks, April
P.S. I am trying to find Canadian contacts for you just not 100% sure if this is an EPA or a Health Department issue??
Hi April!
Thank you so much for writing! I think if Canada has an agency similar to our Consumer Product Safety Commission that might be the right type of agency OR possibly (since it is food packaging) an agency similar to our Food & Drug Administration? Thank you so much for offering to help – I really appreciate that (I don’t have enough time in the day and help from readers makes a huge difference!)
The ice-cream packaging (not made of glass) is generally not an issue as far as Lead is concerned. Lead paint is currently only used on glass packaging (with few exceptions.)
Thanks again!
Tamara
Okay this is truly embarrassing. Shame on Canada! I am from Whistler, Canada, and as far as I know one of the only farms that even uses glass bottles in BC is Avalon (known for humane practices, environmental stewardship). im going to email them right now. I’m hoping they will be as freaked out as I am .( Or, fingers crossed, I’m hoping they’ll say they’ve already requested the lead-paint-free bottles. Unlikely.) If you would like me to send a bottle from here (yes, they’re Stanpac), let me know.
I can also send you a copy of the email I sent to Avalon and/or let you know their reply when I get it.
Yes – please send me a bottle! Thank you!
TamaraRubin@mac.com is my best email
Address:
Tamara Rubin
Lead Safe Mama, LLC
7933 SE 15th Avenue
Portland, OR 97202
Thanks so much!
Tamara, I finally got a reply from Avalon Dairy. I’m going to send it to you. I wondered what was taking so long. Not a lot of info but it * sounds* like they weren’t aware and my read is they want to correct it. This is hopeful.
Any update on the Avalon bottles? I’m in BC too and had no idea. I agree that it’s outrageous that they would be using lead paint in this day and age.
I am in Richmond BC and have a bottle of Avalon organic milk in my fridge as well. I rarely buy milk but bought it to make scalloped potatoes. I will use a milk substitute recipe next time I make them!
I will also message Avalon Dairy and tell them I won’t be purchasing their milk again unless I hear they get lead free bottles.
Thank you so much! If you would like to send that to me, that would be excellent:
Tamara Rubin
Lead Safe Mama, LLC
7933 SE 15th Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97202
Superb work, as per usual, Tamara!
Many blessings and good health for you and yours in the New Year!
Thank you!
T
Eek I have been using these milk bottles from homestead creamery and looked and they use stanpac glass too :((((((((((
https://www.homesteadcreameryinc.com/
I too checked and found stan pac on bottom of both. Those entities that use or won’t stop using leaded paint should be held responsible. I already called the dairy manager this morning where I shop at my local coop and told them about you, your web site and he was already looking it up on the Google machine. Your so very busy I know but I wish I could talk with you. My story with him is an amazing response. Can I send you the bottles and I only have the receipt from one. But I’m checking those two a bit later with my lead test swabs. Will let him know and I’ll let you know.
Please do send the bottles. Where are you located? My address is 7933 SE 15th Avenue, Portland, Oregon 97202.
You can email me with a bit of your story if you like: TamaraRubin@mac.com
Tamara
I would contact Health Canada. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency enforces Health Canada’s regulations so I think Health Canada would be where you would start Tamara.
https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/corporate/contact-us.html
Thank you for that input!
T
Tamara I emailed you earlier today that I too found two different businesses of eggnog from my coop. I tested both with instant lead test swabs. Both swabs turned red. Called and spoke with dairy manager at Oryana Coop about this issue and he was so receptive. They even pulled both brands from the shelf . Those brands are: The Farmers Creamery in Hersey Michigan the other is Hilhof Dairy in Mio Michigan. Tomorrow I’m emailing each one and tell them my concerns plus calling both on Monday to talk with someone at each. Plus emailing Stan pac about their use of using leaded paint on their products that we humans buy and drink. Along with all of our children. Stop using leaded paint just because you can get away with it. I want us to push for the same regulations California has. If that’s what it takes. I bet they don’t let their kids or family members drink from what Stan pac wants all of us to buy. I will send you both bottles but I only have the receipt for one of them. You have the XRT and I’m interested in their amounts of heavy metals.
Thank you so much Tamara for all you do.
Thank you, Marilyn.
We can’t do this work without each other. That’s why this truly is a movement. I look forward to testing your bottles! I should have a petition up in the next day or two as well.
Tamara
Happy healthy new year Tamara. I’m getting those two Stan pac bottles in mail to you tomorrow.
Tamara you long ago put out how to get more than one use from the Instant lead swabs. Could you put that out to us again. As everything else, that cost has gone UP. Thank you in advance.
Hello again Tamara. Have another concern about 2 products I’ve been using but thought I should stop see if I could get rid of concerns. Raya S-105 Velvet Body Nourishing Seaweed Oil. If I send a small amount in a glass jar can you check that for heavy metals or not? The jar I’ll put it in is not what it comes in. Amount? Plus could you check the glass jar as well as I store things in other empty ones.
Then Feet of Endurance. Natural Foot Care. If you can read with your XRT as it is a grease like product. I could put whatever the amount is inside the original canister. I have an extra canister. I’d like to include a check along with all of this if it’s ok inside the box plus the two Stan Pak bottles I told you already I’ll send out tomorrow. Can you do this?
Tamara I sent off my last comment before I was done. Found out from the Hilhof Dairy web site, they as sell to Wholefoods and probably many more Coops around our country.
People touch the bottles to put in there cart then touch how many other items in store leaving trace amounts of the LEAD on those items. Is that a fact or not?
Then went to my local store Family Fare this morning, they are all over Michigan. They have Hilhof Dairy white milk and smoothies with green print. LEAD or CADMIUM? Should I purchase it dump out milk and send that to you? I have other things I’ve mentioned on another comment and would like to know if I could send all in one box.
I sent off an email to the health part of Canada about the Stan pac bottles and lead in the paint.
We purchased our first pallets of bottles from Stanpac in June of 2021. I asked about the lead ink before purchasing and was assured that all new customers’ artwork was lead free. I am sure that many of the bottles out there have been in circulation for a long time, so the lead issue will persist for dairies who purchased their bottles before the change, but Stanpac seems to have noted the issue and changed. Newer Stanpac bottle ink should be lead free.
This is excellent to hear, but still frustrating that they “silently” would have made this change without an announcement informing dairies or customers. How was it you thought to ask about this?
Would you be interested in sending me one of your bottles so I can confirm it is Lead free? It would be great to have this data point. I would be happy to test it free of charge. I’m supper thankful that you contacted me here!
In deciding on a new container for our dairy, I was looking online for any potential issues with the bottles before purchasing, and I came across either this article (I think you had written about this in the past) or someone else who had written something similar. That’s why I asked about it.
To make an announcement would be to admit that it is a problem, and there would be the liability and potentially hurting a lot of their customers who had bought the older ones and needed to re use them to justify the price.
Sure. Mail it to the address you listed above in the comments? I think it is lead free given how our logo has faded over the past year. I bet lead ink holds up better than this stuff does.
Yes please!
Thanks for sharing this. I should really stop being surprised, yet I am. Just like you said in the article, people buying milk in glass jars are doing it to avoid contaminants for the health of their family. Unbelievable. I had grand plans of switching to them fully, but never did mostly due to cost. Now I’m relieved I never did and only bought them a few times. I will check the brands in stores here in Canada and see what I can do from here.
I emailed Stanpac on 7/19/24 and they responded saying they don’t have lead in the paint. Granted, they may be lying…Do you still want bottles mailed to you? Thanks!
Also, do you have any updates since 2022? Thank you.
They started changing things in 2021 – but they phased in the changes. You could send me a bottle but I may not be able to test it until October.
Wonderful, thanks so much for the info! No rush — thank you!!
Hi Tamara,
I have 2 Stan-Pac pint bottles that have green lettering. I’ve had them for many years. Does the color of the paint make a difference as to lead content?
Thanks!
Sue
No – Pre-2022 it is all colors
Thanks Tamara!
Sue