Published: November 7, 2024
Below is a partly abbreviated list of all of the 67 foods and supplements that Lead Safe Mama, LLC sent to the lab for testing in September of 2024. Funding for this testing is a community collaborative effort (Lead Safe Mama community members both nominate the products for testing and contribute to help cover the cost of testing and reporting for all of these products).
We expect to have the lab reports for all of the remaining foods and supplements listed below (that have not yet been published) published in November of 2024. We will link additional reports here once they are published.
The listing below is in alphabetical order by product name (Exceptions: Costco products are under “C”, not K for Kirkland, and Whole Foods / 365 products are under “W”) We will also be writing out the full exact product name as time permits as we update this list.
- More info at: https://tamararubin.com/food/
- Lead Safe Mama, LLC sent SIXTY SEVEN (67) foods and supplements to the lab in September of 2024.
- Unfortunately we needed to re-test many of these 67 products as the Lab reports we received back did not meet our standards.
- Specifically, the low-threshold of detection for the four metals we are routinely testing were not low enough to determine compliance – or lack of compliance – with the Action Levels set forth with the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021.
- What happened:
- The lab network we have been using for this food testing used a different lab than the one that had been used previously for most of our food and supplement testing done to date.
- When we got the first round of lab reports back (for foods and supplements that we had sent in in September) we noticed that the low threshold of detection was too high and brought this to the attention of the lab network (SimpleLab).
- SimpleLab’s team then asked us to hold off on sending in more products and spent some time (about two weeks) working to identify a specific lab that would meet (or exceed) our standards for low thresholds of detection for all future testing.
- Once the lab network identified a new specific lab that could meet (most of) our standards they offered to retest some (but not all) of the products that were not tested to sufficiently low levels.
- They had to determine which of the products still had portions of the product at the lab in storage available to be re-tested, and they had to have those sampled shipped to the new lab that would test to the lower threshold of detection.
- Throughout this process we were not 100% clear about how many (and which) products SimpleLab would be willing (and able) to retest without charge – in the end they were only able to retest 12 (of about 30) products that needed to be re-tested to meet our standards.
- In the middle of sorting through all of these technical issues related to the actual testing of these products, SimpleLab also “upgraded” their reporting system, which resulted in a glitch in the formatting of their downloadable reports for a good part of a week, so that error also held up much of the testing and reporting we were working on in September and October.
- After they located the best lab to use to help us meet our standards, SimpleLab then set up a new test option (for purchase) in their online system for “Low Level” heavy metal testing (specifically set up for the work being done by Lead Safe Mama, LLC) – and raised the price to cover their costs incurred as a result of this change.
- What this means is that instead of a lab test cost of $189 (direct on SimpleLab site) or $195 (on Amazon) the new price for the Low Level Heavy Metal Testing of Foods (testing for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, & Arsenic) is $239 per item tested.
- This new “Low Level Heavy Metals” food test is only available directly on the Simple Lab site (and is not available on Amazon).
- We are therefore needing to pay this increased rate ($239 per test) to re-test 18+ of the products we sent in to the lab in the month of September, for an unexpected additional out-of-pocket cost to Lead Safe Mama, LLC of $4,302 (plus the cost of repurchasing all of the products for testing that need to be re-tested).
- Personal Note: This has impacted me personally as the funds to pay for this retesting is coming from me personally, meaning we are not able to pay our mortgage this month. While this may sound petty (and I may remove this comment later) – I think it is important to note that these changes are not without impact, and also it is important to note this as the integrity of the work of Lead Safe Mama, LLC (and our commitment and our obligation to the Lead Safe Mama community) is currently a priority for me (over covering my mortgage). Unfortunately Lead Safe Mama, LLC is still working at a deficit each month (with an ongoing debt related to our Federal Civil Rights Legal Battle of about $270,000) – although we hope that to change soon.
- We have also raised our fundraising goal for future lab testing initiatives accordingly to cover this increase in cost, but did not raise the goal for the 50+ not-yet-funded campaigns that were currently active when we learned SimpleLab would be raising our rate for this testing.
- This means that we have about 50 products for which we are raising $50 less than what we will need to cover the cost of testing and reporting (budget here) – so a financial impact to Lead Safe Mama, LLC of an additional (approximate) $2,500.
- The new low threshold of detection for each of the four metals we are testing for (Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, & Arsenic) – is 5 ppb.
- This works for Lead, Arsenic, and Cadmium given the proposed Action Levels for those metals are as follows:
- Lead: 5 ppb
- Cadmium: 5 ppb
- Arsenic: 10 ppb
- This works for Lead, Arsenic, and Cadmium given the proposed Action Levels for those metals are as follows:
- Unfortunately — while these new testing limits do meet-or-exceed the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021’s Action Level thresholds for Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic — they do not meet the Action Level threshold of 2 ppb for Mercury.
- As a result of the new limitation for Mercury, we are noting in each of the relevant articles whether or not we expect the product tested may (or may not) have any risk of Mercury contamination (at levels below 5 ppb), based on the ingredient profile.
- In summary…. this has been a bit of a nightmare! Sorry for the delay! I chalk all of this up to “growing pains” with SimpleLab (as I am sure they did not expect we would so quickly grow to the point of sending 60+ in a month when they first offered to test 6 products for us for free back in March of 2024!)
WHERE ARE THE LITTLE SPOON TEST RESULTS?
In response to many questions about the Little Spoon products specifically, the above situation resulted in us needing to retest the Little Spoon products across the board. These products were re-purchased (so we would have fresh samples from their current product line offering) and re-sent to the lab on November 7, 2024. We are also asking SimpleLab to expedite the re-test of these products specifically (as well as some others) – especially given we are absorbing a significant cost on our end for an error that originated at the labs. To check on the status of the Little Spoon products, please keep an eye on our NOVEMBER Lab testing page (which will be updated shortly) – link here. The Little Spoon re-testing alone is costing us $2,151 in additional lab costs – plus the cost of purchasing additional product for testing.
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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.
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!
- Below is a list of links to products (foods and supplements) that have tested “non-detect” for all of the heavy metals we are testing for: Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, and Arsenic (with the limits of detection / low threshold of detection noted in the lab report for the specific product listed).
- Please note: there is some variation in the low threshold of detection for some of these lab reports.
- To find the lab report (and related article) for any of the products listed below, please enter the product name in the search bar at the top of any page of this website.
- Sea Salt (Oregon USA): https://amzn.to/4dcbk5L
- Organic Einkorn Flour (Italy): https://amzn.to/3LIqxix
- Organic, Gluten-Free, Sprouted Rolled Oats (Canada): https://amzn.to/3WIQ1BN
- Organic, Gluten-Free Chia Seeds (Mexico): https://amzn.to/3YvE7xC
- Organic Espresso Roast Ground Coffee (Multi-Country Origin, Non-USA): https://amzn.to/3yo1eiL
- Grape Tonic: https://amzn.to/4cjFYZu
- Organic Hemp Seeds: https://amzn.to/4e05RP9
- Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/3XhWYLe
- Organic Layered Fruit Bars — Strawberry Banana Flavor: https://amzn.to/3WQEekA
- Organic Layered Fruit Bars — Raspberry Lemonade Flavor: https://amzn.to/3XcFsIp
- Organic Soy Milk: https://amzn.to/4dwev8l
- Organic Perilla Seed Oil (Korea): https://amzn.to/3NDt7Yc
- ByHeart Infant Formula (USA-Made): https://amzn.to/48DJjTb
- Kendamil Organic Follow-On Milk (European/ British Toddler Formula, for 6-12 months): Link (not available on Amazon)
- 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 (not yet tested, but should test similarly): https://amzn.to/3BVU7zI
- Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Panda Puffs: https://amzn.to/4fo1crf
- Chosen Foods 100% Avocado Oil (not organic): https://amzn.to/3YDZSuv
- Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil: https://amzn.to/48q1j2V
- Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Multivitamin Liquid Drops with Iron: https://amzn.to/3YPhcgx
- Stand by for more!
Products that tested positive for one or more toxicants, but at a low 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):
- Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil — Organic (Postive for trace Arsenic, at a safe-by-all-standards level): https://amzn.to/3BVQYQa
- Stand by for more in this category.
Amazon links are affiliate links. If you purchase something after clicking on a Lead Safe Mama Amazon Affiliate link we may receive a percentage of what you spend at no extra cost to you.
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