Silver EarthPaste Mineral Toothpaste (in Lemon Twist) Tests Positive for an Extremely High Level of Lead (plus Arsenic & Cadmium): 2025 Lab Report Here

ByTamara Posted:
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Original Packaging for this Product — Including Original Prop 65 Warning:

A (not so) Quick Note from Tamara Rubin:

While, frankly, the level of Lead in this toothpaste (a toothpaste which is marketed and sold for use by children) is so extremely high that  nothing else needs to be said, here’s a few points worth highlighting in the bulleted list below:

  • While I am often accused of “going after” companies, I never do “go after” companies — with rare exceptions. Primary exception: When a company persistently and flagrantly goes out of its way to poison children with products, I make an effort to be just as persistent in my efforts to get these products removed from the market (or at least getting them to change the marketing or packaging whenever possible).
  • I first discovered this product had extremely high levels of Lead over a decade ago and have been trying to get it removed from the market since then. It is simply not safe for children to use and in spite of subtle changes to their marketing language in recent years, which made it less obvious this is a product sold for kids’ use, this product still is obviously marketed for children’s use.
  • Redmond formally had their Prop 65 warning for this product ONLY on the BOX (which most people did not look at) in thin black writing against a mottled brown background (see image above) so it was nearly impossible to see. They changed this to make it more visible AND they added it to the tube (see image below).
  • Unfortunately, they also skirted the prop 65 labeling requirements by putting their barcode sticker OVER the prop 65 warning (at least for the tubes that you get shipped to you after purchasing it on Amazon).
  • NOTE: This prop 65 warning used to have a clear warning that indicated this product should not be used by children or pregnant women (see above) but they changed the language with the new packaging so it is not as clear!
  • Given that even after arguing with this company for a DECADE to try getting them to stop skirting regulatory actions that would result in this product not being used by children, the company has continued selling the product in a way that is obviously marketing it to parents as a product used by children. So I got quite excited when Washington State created a new law that would make this product ILLEGAL for sale in the State of Washington starting in JANUARY of 2025!
  • The new Washington State Law requires that personal care products not test positive for Lead at levels above ONE PPM (one part per million). One part per million is one thousand parts per billion.
  • As I understood the new Washington State law was likely going to be enforceable starting this year, I decided (as a gift to the relevant regulatory agencies in Washington State) to send this product off to the lab so folks with the State of Washington would have evidence (in a lab report) supporting an inquiry into what might be the very first product they can take action against for breaking this new law.
  • I knew this product would test positive for Lead at levels significantly higher than the 1,000 ppb limit and I was not surprised that our lab report came back showing this product as testing positive for 3,500 ppb Lead (I have worked with several families whose children were likely poisoned, at least in part, from using this product — I have also tested this product using XRF technology, so I was fully aware the lab report would come back showing significant and unsafe Lead levels).
  • I called the State of Washington earlier this month and shared this information with them (I let them know I had tested this product at the lab and would be sending them the report). They explained to me that their first goal with this regulation is not to fine or punish the company, but to alert the company of the concern and give them the opportunity to fix the problem (before taking other regulatory action, like not allowing sales in Washington State or through Washington State-based retailers… like Amazon).
  • Given the fact that Redmond has done essentially NOTHING to clean up this product in the past 10 years I have been attempting to ask them to stop selling it for children’s use, I don’t anticipate the company will start cleaning up this product now — or any of their toothpaste products.
  • Bentonite clay is the primary ingredient in their toothpastes and this clay is contaminated, so in fact, it is not possible for them to clean this product up and have it be at all the same product.
  • I am very excited to see how this plays out and hopeful to see if Washington State’s new law will be the tool we can finally use to get Redmond to stop poisoning children (and adults!) after all these years. 
  • I will also be reporting this to the FDA. If you would like to join me in reporting this product, you can do so here.
  • Stay tuned! I’ll let you know how this all turns out.
Redmond continues to convince customers this product is safe for use by children, including highlighting 5-star reviews on their website that indicate customers are using it with young children (see the first image) and stating it’s “for our families” in the product description (see second image below). Continue reading after these images. The full lab report for this product can be found at the bottom of this article.
The full lab report for this product is at the bottom of this article.

As far as safer choices for foods and supplements go, we have a few lists on our food and supplement testing landing page (linked here) that you may find helpful in making safer choices for your family. We even have one dedicated to safer snack choices here. You may also find this link helpful, as it takes you to our most recently updated safer choices list of 49 lab-tested safer foods and supplements!

Please check out our open/ not-yet-funded campaigns on GoFundMe if you would like to support some of our additional independent, crowd-funded, third-party laboratory testing. Thank you!

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).

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!

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.

  • 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” or a “Recommended Daily Amount.” If a product reaches the “Action Level” for heavy metals, it has too much of the heavy metals in question.
    • Many food and supplement manufacturers misinterpret existing guidance on heavy metals to mean the stated levels are “allowable levels” or “acceptable levels” (in spite of the scientific consensus that there is no safe level of Lead exposure, for example) and consider it reasonable for products to test positive for heavy metals, but at levels that fall below any regulated maximums.
    • This is a (perhaps intentional?) misunderstanding/ misinterpretation the food and supplement industry makes — a misunderstanding manufacturers use to justify the presence of heavy metals in products.
    • As an example: A common refrain in this realm is when a supplement or food manufacturer proudly proclaims its product meets Prop 65 guidelines as it tests positive for Lead, but under the limit noted by Prop 65. This position entirely disregards the well-known scientific fact there is no safe level of Lead exposure for humans.
  • 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 or supplement 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) to have metals at a level that is 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 a better (more health-protective) metric than Prop 65 limits as they are more comprehensive and UNRELATED TO SERVING SIZE .
    • Serving sizes are set by manufacturers and in many cases do not reflect real world consumption habits and patterns (more on that below).
    • Serving size thresholds for toxicity also do not take into account realistic levels of toxicant ingestion from multiple foods and supplements over the course of a given day — or week or month (especially given the fact that many products are typically consumed in quantities far greater than a manufacturer-set serving size).
    • Serving sizes are often set to quantities that are intentionally lower than anticipated actual daily consumption of a product (see bag of potato chips example below) —  and companies specifically set these lower quantities only in order to be in compliance with Prop 65 (or other serving size-related) standards.
    • On the other hand, Action Levels are relevant for any amount of a food or supplement product that may be consumed (any quantity of the food or supplement in question).
    • Action Levels are a better (more health-protective) measure as they take into account the total heavy metals content of all products consumed throughout the day (were there to be a federally-mandated, health protective Action Level for all ingested items).
    • If the Action Level for all items is protective of children’s health, one would never need to pay any attention to how much of a product a child consumes.
    • Action Levels are a more reasonable metric in light of the fact that all federal agencies agree there is no safe level of Lead exposure (especially for children, but truly for all humans).
    • If we are evaluating Lead exposure based on serving size, we are contradicting science by asserting that a certain amount of Lead is ok (within arbitrary limits that, again, are not protective of human health).
    • PPB (parts per billion/ ppb) measurements are a percentage (albeit a very small percentage) and apply to any quantity of any food or supplement product (tested or ingested).
    • If all ingested foods and supplements were evaluated by ppb content for heavy metals across the board (using the same scale for all types of ingested products), confusion over safety limits would be eliminated.
    • By retaining a structure of serving size-based exposure, our regulatory agencies are doing a disservice to consumers, and again, (especially) as all federal agencies (and scientists and medical experts) agree there is no safe level of Lead exposure.
    • 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 or supplement 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 or supplement 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 and supplement types (vitamins, 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).

“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, the products listed below (the first section of the list below) tested “non-detect” for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic — several even tested non-detect for Lead with the low threshold of detection being “less than 1.5 ppb.”

Below is an EXPANDING list of products (foods and supplements) that have tested “non-detect” for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, and Arsenic with independent, third-party, crowd-funded laboratory testing coordinated by Lead Safe Mama, LLC (an Oregon-based small business with a unique community-collaborative business model and a focus on consumer goods safety and childhood Lead poisoning prevention).
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The limits of detection for each of the metals tested are noted in the lab report for the specific product listed. To see the full lab report for any of these products, type the brand name into the search bar at the top of any page on Lead Safe Mama dot com (and scroll down to the bottom of the related article).
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Flavors tested are noted, and other flavors of the same product (or other products from the same brand) have either not been tested or have been tested but did not yield similar results. Test results only apply to the specific products linked below.

LIST UPDATED January 26, 2025 — 49 Products!:

  1. Baby Food — 1 — Little Spoon Kale, Carrot + Pear BabyBlends
  2. Baby Food — 2 —Little Spoon Butternut Squash + Blueberry BabyBlends
  3. Baby Food — 3 — Little Spoon Sweet Potato BabyBlends
  4. Baby Food — 4 — Little Spoon Sweet Potato + Carrot BabyBlends
  5. Baby Food — 5 — Little Spoon Banana + Pitaya BabyBlends
  6. Beverage — 1 — Honest Kids Organic Appley Ever After Apple Juice Drink: https://amzn.to/4fjGhov
  7. Beverage — 2 —  Olipop Grape Tonic: https://amzn.to/4cjFYZu
  8. Breakfast Item — 1 — Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Panda Puffs: https://amzn.to/4fo1crf
  9. Breakfast Item — 2 — One Degree Organic, Gluten-Free, Sprouted Rolled Oats (Canada): https://amzn.to/3WIQ1BN
  10. Candy — Lindt White Chocolate Bar (Made in USA, New Hampshire): https://amzn.to/3OXkyIm
  11. Candy — Cavendish & Harvey Wild Berry Drops, not organic (Germany): https://amzn.to/3Z1Jxjr
  12. Coffee & Tea — 1 — Chameleon Handcrafted Organic Cold Brew Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3OcrH77
  13. Coffee & Tea — 2 — Tao of Tea Organic Genmaicha (Tamara’s favorite, from Japan, sold by a Portland, Oregon-based company!): https://amzn.to/3Dp8Fsd
  14. Coffee & Tea — 3 — Califia Farms Almond Latte Cold Brew (XX Espresso): https://amzn.to/4gTTGoJ
  15. Coffee & Tea — 4 — Death Wish Organic Espresso Roast Ground Coffee (Multi-country origin, non-USA): https://amzn.to/3yo1eiL  
  16. Coffee Creamer — Plant-Based  — 1 — Laird Superfood Coconut Creamer: https://amzn.to/4fItA7A
  17. Coffee Creamer — Dairy — 2 — Organic Valley Grassmilk Half and Half: https://amzn.to/4fHJIWT
  18. Dairy, Cheese – Babybel Mini Original Snack Cheese: https://amzn.to/3ZY5noO
  19. Fruit Snack — 1 — GoGo Squeez Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/3XhWYLe
  20. Fruit Snack — 2 — Costco’s Kirkland Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/4gOYpZ9
  21. Fruit Snack — 3 — Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Strawberry Banana Flavor: https://amzn.to/3WQEekA
  22. Fruit Snack — 4 — Once Upon A Farm Dairy Free Fruit Smoothie Pouch in Strawberry Banana Swirl Flavor: https://amzn.to/3CPMbAw
  23. Fruit Snack — 5 — Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Raspberry Lemonade Flavor: https://amzn.to/3XcFsIp
  24. Infant Formula — 1 — Bobbie Organic Gentle Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron (pink and white can): https://amzn.to/3YYb849 
  25. Infant Formula — 2 — Bobbie Organic Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron (green and white can): https://amzn.to/3VOr4Vy
  26. Infant Formula — 3 — Bobbie Grass-Fed Milk-Based Powder with Iron (green can): https://amzn.to/3ZlAaeJ
  27. Infant Formula — 4 — ByHeart Infant Formula (USA-made, not organic): https://amzn.to/48DJjTb
  28. Infant Formula — 5 — HiPP Bio Combiotik Infant Formula Powder, Stage 1 (imported)
  29. Infant Formula — 6 — HiPP HA Stage PRE (0+ Months) Combiotic Formula  (imported)
  30. Infant Formula — 7 — Holle Bio Goat Stage 2 Infant Formula (for 6-10 months, organic, European — Swiss/ German/ Austrian) is not available on Amazon, but the Stage 3 version of this product is (not yet tested, but will likely test similarly): https://amzn.to/3BVU7zI
  31. Infant Formula — 8 — Kendamil Goat Infant Formula (not organic): This product may be available at Target (it is not available on Amazon)
  32. Infant Formula — 9 — Kendamil Organic Follow-On Milk (European/ British Toddler Formula, for 6-12 months, Cow Milk): Not available on Amazon (report link)
  33. Infant Formula — 10 — Kendamil Whole Milk Infant Formula (from Europe, pink can, not organic), available at Target
  34. Infant Formula — 11 — Kendamil Organic Infant Formula (Cow Milk): Not available on Amazon but may be available at Target
  35. Ingredient — 1 (salt) — Jacobsen’s Sea Salt (Oregon, USA): https://amzn.to/4dcbk5L
  36. Ingredient — 2 (baking flour) — Jovial Organic Einkorn Flour (Italy): https://amzn.to/3LIqxix 
  37. Ingredient — 3 (seeds) — Costco Kirkland Organic Hemp Seeds: https://amzn.to/4e05RP9
  38. Ingredient — 4 (seeds) — Navitas Organic, Gluten-Free Chia Seeds (Mexico): https://amzn.to/3YvE7xC
  39. Ingredient — 5 (beans) — Jovial Organic Chickpeas, Product of Italy: https://amzn.to/4iRON1l
  40. Oil — 1 — Chosen Foods 100% Avocado Oil (not organic): https://amzn.to/3YDZSuv
  41. Oil — 2 — Dr. Adorable’s Organic Perilla Seed Oil (Korea): https://amzn.to/3NDt7Yc
  42. Oil — 3 — Dr. Bronner’s Regenerative Organic Coconut Oil: https://amzn.to/40xwBmv
  43. Plant-Based Milk — 1 — Kiki Milk Organic Plant-Based Milk (original flavor): https://amzn.to/3AA6Qrt
  44. Plant-Based Milk — 2 — West Soy Unflavored Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk: https://amzn.to/4dwev8l
  45. Supplement — 1 — Baby Ddrops – Organic Vitamin D3 Supplement for Babies: https://amzn.to/49C3ktH
  46. Supplement — 2 — Doctor’s Best Vitamin C with Q-C: https://amzn.to/4hlVvea
  47. Supplement — 3 — Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil: https://amzn.to/48q1j2V
  48. Supplement — 4 — Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Multivitamin Liquid Drops with Iron: https://amzn.to/3YPhcgx
  49. Supplement — 5 — Pendulum Metabolic Daily Dietary Supplement: https://amzn.to/4gY5wOm

Here’s a link to the lab reports for of all of the foods and supplements we have tested – including those listed above:
https://tamararubin.com/2024/05/food-articles/

Stand by for more!

BONUS FIVE: Below are FIVE additional products that each tested positive for trace (very low levels of) Arsenic — at levels considered safe by all standards (with the limits of detection noted in the lab report for the specific product listed):

  1. Infant Formula — Kendamil Goat Toddler Milk, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): May be available at Target or through other online retailers of European infant formulas
  2. Fruit Snack — That’s It Apple Cherry Bars, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/4fHkSWV
  3. Oil — Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado Oil, organic (postive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3BVQYQa
  4. Supplement — Now Sunflower Lecithin, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3AFdHzO
  5. Supplement — WishGarden Immune Boost Seasonal Rescue for Pregnancy: https://amzn.to/3Cd940N

Amazon links are affiliate links. 

Published: January 28, 2025
Tuesday

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

More Key Points to Consider:

  • There are almost no reasonable safety limits proposed for toxicant contamination (heavy metal contamination specifically) of foods and supplements consumed by adults (or by the general population) in the United States.
  • Any available proposed safety thresholds (and guidance) for foods and supplements consumed by adults are not currently set at levels that are protective of human health, given practical/ actual consumption patterns of foods (vs. manufacturer-defined serving sizes).
    • The above point is especially important given children eat all foods, not just foods marketed for consumption by children (for example: Find me a pre-teen that won’t go through an entire 5-ounce/ 5-serving bag of potato chips in one sitting)!
  • Our focus is (as always) on the health of children.
  • By applying the standards proposed by the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 to all foods and supplements, we are working more in line with standards that protect human health (for all!) given all scientific and medical experts agree there is no safe level of Lead exposure for human beings.
  • Said another way: You would never be eating a snack chip out of a bag and say to your 5-year-old child “this product is only marketed for consumption by adults, so you cannot eat it.” That would be ridiculous. Kids eat what we eat, so everything that goes into our bodies in an attempt to nourish us and support our health and well being should be appropriate for any age consumer (not just a demographic designated by the manufacturer based on irrelevant age group-related toxicity standards for a specific product or ingredient).
  • Remember: There is no safe level of Lead exposure for human beings. Period.
    • This is a non-negotiable point that everyone in the scientific and medical community — everyone who researches Lead poisoning — agrees with.

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 of foods and supplements Lead Safe Mama, LLC is conducting (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.

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.

Lab report for the product pictured above:

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