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For those new to the Lead Safe Mama 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 four sons were acutely Lead-poisoned in 2005).

• Tamara owns and runs Lead Safe Mama, LLC — a unique community collaborative woman-owned small business for childhood Lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety.
• Since July of 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for 5 product recalls (FDA and CPSC).
• All test results reported on this website are science-based, accurate, and replicable.
• Please check out our press page to see some of the amazing coverage of our work so far this year!

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Affiliate link to the test kit Lead Safe Mama, LLC uses for the laboratory food test results we publish: https://amzn.to/3UIPcHP.

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This is an ad-free article.

Advertising and affiliate income help Lead Safe Mama, LLC cover the costs of the work we do here (independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead-poisoning prevention advocacy). We have removed ads from most of our more widely-read articles (and newly published articles, too — like this one!) to make them easier for you to read. In addition to supporting this work by starting any shopping you might be doing with a click on our affiliate links, if you would like to support the independent consumer goods testing and childhood Lead poisoning prevention advocacy work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC by making a contribution (which will also help us keep our more widely-read articles ad-free), click here. Thank you!

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For safer food choices, click here.

Published: June 26, 2024
Wednesday

Lead Safe Mama, LLC tested Gold Medal All Purpose Flour (pictured above) using laboratory testing (specifically designed to test for heavy metals in food) in May, 2024. What we found was particularly alarming. (You can see the full laboratory test report here in this article if you scroll down.)

• The scientific and medical community recommendation in the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 was that foods consumed by young children should not test positive for levels of Cadmium at 5 ppb (parts per billion) or higher.
• This 5 ppb limit was set as the “Action Level” for Cadmium in the proposed Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, however this proposed regulatory standard has yet to become a legislative standard as the Baby Food Safety Act never passed into law.
  • In this context, an “Action Level” is the level at which action should be taken to address a concerning level of toxicants in a food product.
  • An “Action Level” is also a level at-or-above which the scientific and medical community would encourage manufacturers to inform the public of toxicity concerns with their product (so the consumer will know to stop eating this product and avoid potential health risks).
• Cadmium is a known carcinogen and has been well-established as a carcinogen for decades. Cadmium was first officially designated as a known human carcinogen in 1993.
• Through testing several other flour products (listed below), Lead Safe Mama, LLC has established it is possible for flours to test “non-detect” for Cadmium (even with a threshold of detection well below the 5 ppb Action Level proposed in 2021).
• The reason it is so very concerning that this flour (Gold Medal All Purpose Flour) tests positive for 32 ppb Cadmium (which is 640% of what the scientific and medical community considers to be a harmful level for infants and young children) is the ubiquitous nature of this particular “trusted” brand of flour in homes and restaurants across the United States.
• In addition to this being a “trusted” brand (since 1880, no less!), the significant concentration of Cadmium in this flour (32 ppb) is concerning because flour is most often a primary component of the food being made with flour (consider the examples of cake, cookies, bread, pies, dumplings, pasta, etc).
  • Even if the food stuffs being made with the flour were only 50% flour (and 50% other ingredients), and if — in that scenario the 50% “other ingredients” comprised of Cadmium-free items — the theoretical diluted level of Cadmium in the resultant food product (16 ppb Cadmium) would still be more than 300% of the action level proposed by the medical and scientific community in 2021, if this Gold Medal Flour were used.
• Given the testing we have completed on flours and flour-based food products to date (again, see more examples in the list below), our hypothesis is that there is a high likelihood Cadmium contamination of this flour is coming from microparticulate wear of the (likely Cadmium-plated components) machining equipment used to process this particular brand of flour. Cadmium plating is not uncommon on mechanical components and we implore Gold Medal to evaluate their machining equipment as a place to start when looking for sources of Cadmium contamination in their flour.
• Our advice to consumers:
  • IF you have been consuming this flour on a regular basis, we would encourage you to get checked (proactively) for any potential signs of cancer.
  • Additionally, if you are still planning on using flour in your cooking, we would encourage you to switch to a safer flour (one that does not test positive for unsafe levels of any heavy metals).  The first flour listed below (Jovial Organic Einkorn Flour) tested “non-detect” for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic in the laboratory testing we had conducted (below the 2021 proposed action levels for each of those metals). You can see the full test result report for that flour by following the link below. Here’s an Amazon link for that flour as well: https://amzn.to/4eFOcNW.

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This is the test results summary for the Jovial Organic Einkorn Flour:

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Links to Laboratory Test Reports for Other Flour Products we Have Tested

1. Jovial Organic Einkorn Flour
2. Bob’s Red Mill Cassava Flour
3. Bob’s Red Mill Tapioca Flour
4. Quay Naturals Cassava Flour
5. Terrasoul Superfoods Organic Cassava Flour
6. Otto’s Naturals Cassava Flour

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Some additional reading & links that may be of interest:

1. The Lead Safe Mama affiliate link to purchase the test kits we used for this testing.
2. Our landing page with links to all of the food test results for products we have tested.
3. Here’s how to send your own food samples into a lab for testing (the cost is $195 per single food sample tested for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic) or how to collaborate with Lead Safe Mama, LLC on the food testing we are hosting.
4. The Food category of articles here on Lead Safe Mama dot com.

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Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking a Lead Safe Mama, LLC Amazon affiliate link we may receive a percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.

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Laboratory Testing Report for the Gold Medal All Purpose Flour:

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