For those new to this website:
Tamara Rubin is a multiple-Federal-award-winning independent advocate for childhood Lead-poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a documentary filmmaker. She is also a mother of Lead-poisoned children (two of her sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005). Since 2009, Tamara has been using XRF technology (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 (March 2023 print edition).
July 30, 2023 – Sunday
Hello Andy!
I would appreciate any support you could provide in pursuing possible Prop 65 and FDA violations related to the Bentonite Clay based toothpaste industry. In addition to general industry-wide concerns, I have specific concerns for possible Prop 65 violations with Primal Life Organics and VanMan’s tooth powder products – each of which tested positive for significant and unsafe levels of heavy metals (using XRF technology) when compared to regulatory standards for food – and each of which appears to have no Prop 65 language on their website, marketing materials or product packaging – as it relates to the metals content of their products. Each company sells direct-to-consumer and likely sells to consumers in California. I am equally – but separately – concerned for the level of Lead found in Redmond’s Bentonite Clay baby powder (which is a likely inhalation concern for infants.)
Please read the article linked below and let me know if this is something you may be able to help with. If you cannot help with this I was wondering what your thoughts are on possibly filing a report with the FDA related to this entire class of unsafe Bentonite Clay based products that have the potential (when used normally as intended by the manufacturer) to be ingested (or inhaled) by both adults and children. Not only do these products typically test positive for high levels of Lead, but they also frequently test positive for both Cadmium and Antimony. It’s time for the Feds to step in and regulate these toxic products and the misinformation that surrounds them.
The recent increased proliferation of Bentonite Clay based products – as “healthful alternatives” (and the misinformation that accompanies them) is quite concerning. Separate from the heavy metal content of these products – but equally disturbing – are the persistent claims by the manufacturers and vendors of these products stating that the Lead (and other toxic metals found in the products) is not bio-available. This is a false claim that most consumers (especially those without any science or medical background) are quick to believe.
The alleged lack of bio-availability of the metals typically found in Bentonite Clay is also a consideration that legitimate independent science has clearly repeatedly demonstrated to not be true. In fact the Lead in Bentonite Clay has been demonstrated in repeated scientific studies to be both bioavailable / absorbable by the organs / tissue and harmful. I have some of those studies linked below in the article I published earlier today.
Finally – the Bentonite Clay industry is guilty of persistently presenting another false and misleading point as “fact” – comparing the levels of Lead-contamination in Bentonite Clay based products to the Lead contamination typically found in fresh fruit and vegetables. Of course I would find this laughable if it were not so disturbing and shared so widely. With an XRF instrument in hand one can easily and quickly demonstrate that fresh fruits and vegetables never test positive for any amount of Lead (as measured in ppm) where as Bentonite clearly does. The levels of Lead in fresh fruits in vegetables (typically found in single and double digit ppbs that can only be detected through laboratory testing – NOT in ppms) is in no way comparable to the very high level of XRF-detectable Lead that is regularly found in Bentonite Clay.
Thank you for your time. Here’s the link. Please forward to any members of your team who you think might be interested in helping with this.
We just had our 9 month old tested for lead and it came back high! We tasted a bentonite product from Thrive Market and it showed positive with a home test. I can only imagine how high an XRF test would be. Have you had any response to your letter? We’re trying to figure out how to get this product removed from their website or at least labeled as a hazard.
Most home test kits are not useful for testing this type of product. It’s likely you got a false positive (given the limitations of the test) even though it is positive for Lead (below the limit of detection of any home test kit). Bentonite clay products should never be ingested.
Read this:
https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/dont-panic-these-lead-test-kits-do-not-work-for-testing-consumer-goods-you-might-as-well-tear-up-your-money-and-throw-it-in-the-trash/
And watch my film (to further help you identify the source if your child was not ingesting this clay):
https://tamararubin.com/2023/01/a-link-to-my-film/
Tamara