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Quick note from Tamara Rubin:

I have been informing readers about the concern for toxicants in this particular product for more than five years now, prompted initially when I was house-sitting for my friend Carissa and saw this product on the counter in her kitchen and decided to test the jar for toxicants using XRF testing. You can read my original article at this link — it provides important background regarding the source of potential toxicant contamination for this (and any other commercially-processed nut butters packaged in plastic jars).

The lab report we are sharing with this article (please scroll to the bottom for the full, original report) provides the results for Lead, Cadmium, Arsenic, and Mercury contamination of this product, which is the specific range of testing we have been conducting across the board when it comes to the food and supplement products we at Lead Safe Mama, LLC have been coordinating testing for since March 2024.

Antimony:

We will be publishing a “Part B” to this article in the coming week or two (as soon as we get the report back from the lab) with an additional laboratory test result for this product regarding the Antimony contamination. (Antimony is another known carcinogen in addition to the Cadmium found in these test results.) Specifically, this additional testing will answer the question of whether or not our theory (that this product may likely also have some level of Antimony contamination from the plastic container — the same common type that we have persistently found to test positive for Antimony in similar products) is true in this case. 

I think it is also very important to take a moment here and re-share our recent lab report and article regarding SunButter Organic Sunflower Seed Butter (also packaged in plastic jars). Here’s the link to that article.

Here is a link to our original article (from several years ago) about the concern for toxicants in sunflower seed products in general.

Here’s a link to the language for the complaint we filed with the FDA about this product last month (October 2024).

To answer some questions we anticipate from those reading this article:

1. This is the just first peanut butter product we have tested at this point, so we don’t yet know what to anticipate in terms of test results for any other peanut butter brands.
2. We are surprised (to some degree) we have found such a high level of Cadmium in this product. We have been finding Cadmium in our food supply across the board, but had not previously had enough evidence to link it to peanut butter as another possible contributing source — specifically, although our test results for other peanut-flavored products could support a hypothesis of peanut butter being a contributing factor (in addition to chocolate) for Cadmium contamination in many popular food products. Here’s one such example of a Cadmium-contaminated peanut butter-flavored product: Justin’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups. We assumed most of the Cadmium in this product was just attributable to the chocolate in this particular example (and similar examples), but we are now re-examining that assumption in light of the test results shared below!
   • Here’s another example: Skout Organic Kids Peanut Butter Chocolate Flavored Bars
   • Plus another: Perfect Bars in Chocolate Peanut Butter Flavor
   • And here’s one more: Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
3. We do expect organic peanut butters packaged in glass to have a better toxicant profile (and, thus, that they would likely be a better choice) — but we do not yet have enough evidence to state this as more than an expectation since we do not yet have those test results back from the lab (though there is a sample from Santa Cruz Organic at the lab right now!).
4. These processing and packaging concerns would be applicable to all types of commercially-produced nut butters, and we will continue to test packaged nut butters until we (hopefully) can identify one or more clean sources for families to use for sandwiches, baking, etc.
5. In the meantime — other than recommending sticking with organic nut butters in glass jars (which should theoretically test better) — we do not currently have a recommendation for a known, lab-tested safer product or brand.
6. Here’s a link to our overview article about all the safer products we have found through Lead Safe Mama, LLC’s community collaborative laboratory testing to date (specifically, products that tested “non-detect” for all four of the most common metallic toxicants). These products are linked below, but this article has more context for these non-detect findings and what they mean.
7. We are not sharing this information with you to frighten, nor to “influence” you.
   • We are sharing this information with you to help provide factual data, to empower you to make (your own) science-backed, informed decisions and choices for your own family.
   • Now that you have this information you can make a choice as to whether or not you will use this product for your children. FYI, this product was already on my personal “no fly” list, as the Cadmium levels found are an indicator (again, for me personally) my family needs to put the brakes on eating peanut butter until we have more science, which hopefully uncovers the specific brand(s) that would be safest.

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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 2022, the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC has been responsible for six 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 news coverage of our work — linked here.

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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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Important Background: What is an Action Level?

Please note the following key points:

The original lab report for this product is below (at the bottom of this page).

The graphic above shows the levels of metals detected in this product (in red) along with the low threshold of detection (in orange, above the action levels discussed/ or in green, below the action levels discussed) for each metal not detected with the laboratory testing Lead Safe Mama, LLC had completed for this product. The numbers are juxtaposed (in blue) to the “Action Level” proposed by the medical and scientific community in 2021 as part of the Baby Food Safety Act. For this round of testing, SimpleLab (our laboratory testing provider) had a change of labs and their low threshold of detection is slightly higher than in previous testing rounds.

• These 2021 levels were proposed as “Action Levels” because they are (in fact) protective of human health.
• An “Action Level” is NOT the same as a “Maximum Allowable Level.”
  • Many food manufacturers misinterpret guidance on heavy metals to mean “allowable levels” and consider it reasonable for products to test positive below these levels.
  • This is a (perhaps intentional?) misunderstanding/ misinterpretation the food industry makes — a misunderstanding that food manufacturers use to justify the presence of heavy metals in products.
• Heavy metals accumulate in the body.
  • It is the cumulative/ aggregate impact of heavy metal exposure (over a lifetime) that makes even small/ incidental/ seemingly trivial exposures particularly damaging and dangerous. You can read more about that here.
• Once a food product has the amount of heavy metal (Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, or Arsenic) noted (above) as the “Action Level,” that product is officially considered (by the scientific and medical community) unsafe for consumption by children as toxicants (found at-or-above these levels) are in the range of heavy metal levels that have been demonstrated to cause lasting harm.
• Action Levels are unrelated to serving size.
  • Action Levels are relevant for any amount of a food product that may be consumed (any quantity of the food in question).
  • PPB (parts per billion/ ppb) measurements are a percentage (albeit a very small percentage) and apply to any quantity of the food product tested.
  • For more discussion about serving size considerations (and why relying on “serving size” to limit toxicant exposure is not a relevant metric/ not a metric protective of human health), read this article.
• These “Action Levels” proposed in 2021 are the levels at which the scientific and medical community believe the manufacturer (or government) needs to take ACTION to fix the problem.
  • One “Action” would be for the manufacturer to take steps to reduce the levels of toxicants in the food product.
  • Another “Action” would be for the manufacturer to cease sales of the product until the product could be made safe.
  • Another “Action” would be for the manufacturer to inform the public that a specific food product has an unsafe level of the metal detected at-or-above the “Action Level” — making a highly-visible public announcement regarding which relevant batches of the product should be recalled/ no longer consumed.
• The Action Levels proposed with the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 were not arbitrary toxicant levels, but were proposed because they are the levels most protective of human health. However, the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 was not passed into law.
• Regardless of the fact the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 never passed into law — and it is therefore legal to have foods and supplements marketed for consumption by children test positive for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic at-or-above these levels — these Action Levels still reflect the current (modern/ relevant) advice of the medical and scientific communities as levels both achievable by the industry and safeguards of infant and toddler health.
• Food and supplement industry lobbyists fought against formalizing these proposed “Action Levels” as a government standard, alleging the levels were unachievable.
• The list of safer choices (below) clearly demonstrate these Action Levels as achievable across a range of food types (salt, flour, coffee, oatmeal, chia seeds, hemp seeds, soy milk, packaged fruit-based snacks, beverages, and more).
• The legitimacy of these levels as “Action Levels”/ “Levels of Concern” (even though they were not adopted as law) is mirrored by the legitimacy of the American Academy of Pediatrics’ level of concern for Lead in water, which is 1 ppb despite the FDA’s official “level of concern” for Lead in water being 15 ppb (you can read more about that here).

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 “Simply Not Achievable”

To reiterate: While the packaged, processed food industry would have consumers (and the government) believe the standards proposed in 2021 are unachievable, this industry position (an oft-rearticulated response to nearly every set of laboratory test results for food and supplements that we have published to date) is simply not true. It is possible to make safer processed, packaged food products and supplements that fall well below the safety limits for toxicants proposed within the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021. To wit, several of the products listed below tested non-detect for Lead with the low threshold of detection being “less than 1.5 ppb.”

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Below is a list of links to the safer products we have identified with laboratory testing. To see the lab report for any of the products below, put the brand name in the search bar at the top of any page of this website (and scroll down to the bottom of the related article). To see the lab report for the product pictured above, please scroll down to the bottom of this article.

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Products (foods and supplements) that have tested non-detect for all Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, and Arsenic (with the limits of detection noted in the lab report for the specific product listed, note: There is some variation in the low threshold of detection for some of these lab reports):

1. Sea Salt (Oregon USA): https://amzn.to/4dcbk5L
2. Organic Einkorn Flour (Italy): https://amzn.to/3LIqxix
3. Organic, Gluten-Free, Sprouted Rolled Oats (Canada): https://amzn.to/3WIQ1BN
4. Organic, Gluten-Free Chia Seeds (Mexico): https://amzn.to/3YvE7xC
5. Organic Espresso Roast Ground Coffee (Multi-Country Origin, Non-USA): https://amzn.to/3yo1eiL  
6. Grape Tonic: https://amzn.to/4cjFYZu
7. Organic Hemp Seeds: https://amzn.to/4e05RP9
8. Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/3XhWYLe
9. Organic Layered Fruit Bars — Strawberry Banana Flavor: https://amzn.to/3WQEekA
10. Organic Layered Fruit Bars — Raspberry Lemonade Flavor: https://amzn.to/3XcFsIp
11. Organic Soy Milk: https://amzn.to/4dwev8l
12. Organic Perilla Seed Oil (Korea): https://amzn.to/3NDt7Yc
13. ByHeart Infant Formula (USA-Made): https://amzn.to/48DJjTb
14. Kendamil Organic Follow-On Milk (European/ British Toddler Formula, for 6-12 months): Link (not available on Amazon)
15. Holle Bio Goat Stage 2 Infant Formula (for 6-10 months, organic, European — Swiss/ German/ Austrian): Link (not available on Amazon)
    • The Stage 3 version of this product has not yet been tested, but should test similarly: https://amzn.to/3BVU7zI
16. Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Panda Puffs: https://amzn.to/4fo1crf
17. Chosen Foods 100% Avocado Oil (not organic): https://amzn.to/3YDZSuv
18. Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil: https://amzn.to/48q1j2V
19. Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Multivitamin Liquid Drops with Iron: https://amzn.to/3YPhcgx
20. Stand by for more!

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Products that tested positive for one or more toxicants, but at a level considered safe by all standards (with the limits of detection noted in the lab report for the specific product listed, note: There is some variation in the low threshold of detection for some of these lab reports):

1. Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil — Organic (Postive for Traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3BVQYQa
2. Stand by!

Amazon links are affiliate links. 

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Published: November 2, 2024
Saturday

Hello! We are working on publishing a LOT of test results very quickly this month.

We will be updating this section of each article (with more information about the specific product and other similar products for context) as time permits, but we wanted to make sure the greater Lead Safe Mama community (and the general public) had access to this scientific data (about foods and supplements in their home) as quickly as possible.

Please scroll down to see the full laboratory test report for the product pictured above. Thank you for your patience.

As there are almost no reasonable safety thresholds proposed for toxicants (heavy metals) consumed by adults (in foods and supplements), our focus is (as always) on the health of children. The available proposed safety thresholds (and guidance) for foods consumed by adults are not set at levels protective of human health and are therefore not relevant to the work we do here at Lead Safe Mama, LLC.

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This is the Lead Safe Mama Amazon affiliate link to purchase a test kit similar to what we use for our laboratory testing.

To see more articles related to the laboratory testing for foods and supplements Lead Safe Mama, LLC is hosting (including background on this initiative and safer food choices and guidelines), click the pink square below. To see the full, independent, third-party laboratory report for the product pictured above, please scroll down to the bottom of this page.

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

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Lab report for the product pictured above: