Testing Maseca, Instant Corn Masa Flour (Product of Mexico) for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, & Arsenic Using Independent (Community-Funded), Third-Party Laboratory Testing
This Maseca Instant Corn Masa Flour product was nominated for laboratory testing by families who told us that this is one of the most popular staple products for cooking in the Latin-American community.
I am thrilled to share these test results with you (positive for trace levels of Arsenic – but at such a low level that it is considered safe by all standards!) Please check out the full lab report below. Here’s our affiliate link for this product too: https://amzn.to/4iR8qWN ). This product is now #68 on our “Safer Choices” list!
I just want to also take a moment to highlight the fact that this is yet ANOTHER product we have tested that tested cleaner than most of the other products we have tested to date, yet that was not produced / grown in the United States. We really are painting a picture here with these lab reports — confirming (product-by-product) that heavy metal contamination appears to be more likely to be introduced into crops being grown in the United States than in almost any other country (based on the laboratory test results for the 350+ products we have tested to date).
The full lab report for this product is at the bottom of this article.
As far as safer choices for foods, supplements, and cosmetics 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 choiceshere. You may also find this link helpful as it takes you to our most recently updated safer choices list of 67 lab-tested safer foods, cosmetics, and supplements!
Here’s the link to our landing page with ALL of the lab reports for the independent, third-party laboratory testing Lead Safe Mama, LLC has coordinated since March of 2024 — this is also a good page to bookmark and check back on periodically (it is always pinned at the top of the website’s Menu via the button graphic below, and the Menu can be found at the top of every page on this site).
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 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 an EXPANDING list of products (foods, supplements, and cosmetics) that have tested “non-detect” for Lead, Mercury, Cadmium, and Arsenic with independent, third-party, community-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 (low-threshold of detection) for each of the metals tested can be found in the lab report for the specific product listed. To see the full original 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 March 30, 2025 — Now at 62 Products!:
- Baby Food — 1 — Little Spoon Kale, Carrot + Pear BabyBlends
- Baby Food — 2 —Little Spoon Butternut Squash + Blueberry BabyBlends
- Baby Food — 3 — Little Spoon Sweet Potato BabyBlends
- Baby Food — 4 — Little Spoon Sweet Potato + Carrot BabyBlends
- Baby Food — 5 — Little Spoon Banana + Pitaya BabyBlends
- Beverage — 1 — Honest Kids Organic Appley Ever After Apple Juice Drink: https://amzn.to/4fjGhov
- Beverage — 2 — Olipop Grape Tonic: https://amzn.to/4cjFYZu
- Breakfast Item — 1 — Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Panda Puffs: https://amzn.to/4fo1crf
- #1 NEW! Breakfast Item — 2 — Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Corn Puffs Gorilla Munch**: https://amzn.to/3FHZCDO
- Breakfast Item — 2 — One Degree Organic, Gluten-Free, Sprouted Rolled Oats (Canada): https://amzn.to/3WIQ1BN
- Candy — Lindt White Chocolate Bar (Made in USA, New Hampshire): https://amzn.to/3OXkyIm
- Candy — Cavendish & Harvey Wild Berry Drops, not organic (Germany): https://amzn.to/3Z1Jxjr
- Coffee & Tea — 1 — Chameleon Handcrafted Organic Cold Brew Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3OcrH77
- Coffee & Tea — 2 — Tao of Tea Organic Genmaicha (Tamara’s favorite, from Japan, sold by a Portland, Oregon-based company!): https://amzn.to/3Dp8Fsd
- Coffee & Tea — 3 — Califia Farms Almond Latte Cold Brew (XX Espresso): https://amzn.to/4gTTGoJ
- Coffee & Tea — 4 — Death Wish Organic Espresso Roast Ground Coffee (Multi-country origin, non-USA): https://amzn.to/3yo1eiL
- Coffee Creamer — Plant-Based — 1 — Laird Superfood Coconut Creamer: https://amzn.to/4fItA7A
- Coffee Creamer — Dairy — 2 — Organic Valley Grassmilk Half and Half: https://amzn.to/4fHJIWT
- Dairy, Cheese – Babybel Mini Original Snack Cheese: https://amzn.to/3ZY5noO
- Fruit Snack — 1 — GoGo Squeez Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/3XhWYLe
- Fruit Snack — 2 — Costco’s Kirkland Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/4gOYpZ9
- Fruit Snack — 3 — Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Strawberry Banana Flavor: https://amzn.to/3WQEekA
- Fruit Snack — 4 — Once Upon A Farm Dairy Free Fruit Smoothie Pouch in Strawberry Banana Swirl Flavor: https://amzn.to/3CPMbAw
- Fruit Snack — 5 — Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Raspberry Lemonade Flavor: https://amzn.to/3XcFsIp
- Infant Formula — 1 — Bobbie Organic Gentle Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron (pink and white can): https://amzn.to/3YYb849
- Infant Formula — 2 — Bobbie Organic Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron (green and white can): https://amzn.to/3VOr4Vy
- Infant Formula — 3 — Bobbie Grass-Fed Milk-Based Powder with Iron (green can): https://amzn.to/3ZlAaeJ
- Infant Formula — 4 — ByHeart Infant Formula (USA-made, not organic): https://amzn.to/48DJjTb
- Infant Formula — 5 — HiPP Bio Combiotik Infant Formula Powder, Stage 1 (imported)
- Infant Formula — 6 — HiPP HA Stage PRE (0+ Months) Combiotic Formula (imported)
- 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
- Infant Formula — 8 — Kendamil Goat Infant Formula (not organic): This product may be available at Target (it is not available on Amazon)
- Infant Formula — 9 — Kendamil Organic Follow-On Milk (European/ British Toddler Formula, for 6-12 months, Cow Milk): Not available on Amazon (report link)
- Infant Formula — 10 — Kendamil Whole Milk Infant Formula (from Europe, pink can, not organic), available at Target
- Infant Formula — 11 — Kendamil Organic Infant Formula (Cow Milk): Not available on Amazon but may be available at Target
- Ingredient — 1 (salt) — Jacobsen’s Sea Salt (Oregon, USA): https://amzn.to/4dcbk5L
- #2 NEW! Ingredient — 1 (salt) — Maldon Sea Salt Flakes**: https://amzn.to/4iTzWTE
- Ingredient — 2 (baking flour) — Jovial Organic Einkorn Flour (Italy): https://amzn.to/3LIqxix
- Ingredient — 4 (seeds) — Costco Kirkland Organic Hemp Seeds: https://amzn.to/4e05RP9
- Ingredient — 5 (seeds) — Navitas Organic, Gluten-Free Chia Seeds (Mexico): https://amzn.to/3YvE7xC
- Ingredient — 6 (vinegar) — Napa Valley Naturals Organic Red Wine Vinegar (California): https://amzn.to/4jWhHOg
- Ingredient — 7 (beans) — Jovial Organic Chickpeas, Product of Italy: https://amzn.to/4iRON1l
- #3 NEW! Ingredient — 7 (sugar) — Anthony’s Organic Granulated Cane Sugar**: https://amzn.to/4jf6vLv
- Oil — 1 — Chosen Foods 100% Avocado Oil (not organic): https://amzn.to/3YDZSuv
- Oil — 2 — Dr. Adorable’s Organic Perilla Seed Oil (Korea): https://amzn.to/3NDt7Yc
- Oil — 3 — Dr. Bronner’s Regenerative Organic Coconut Oil: https://amzn.to/40xwBmv
- Plant-Based Milk — 1 — Kiki Milk Organic Plant-Based Milk (original flavor): https://amzn.to/3AA6Qrt
- Plant-Based Milk — 2 — West Soy Unflavored Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk: https://amzn.to/4dwev8l
- Supplement — 1 — Baby Ddrops, Organic Vitamin D3 Supplement for Babies: https://amzn.to/49C3ktH
- Supplement — 2 — Doctor’s Best Vitamin C with Q-C: https://amzn.to/4hlVvea
- Supplement — 3 — Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Multivitamin Liquid Drops with Iron: https://amzn.to/3YPhcgx
- #4 NEW! Supplement — 4 — Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Elderberry Liquid Drops**: https://amzn.to/42617TU
- Supplement — 5 — Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil: https://amzn.to/48q1j2V
- #5 NEW! Supplement — 6 — Nordic Naturals Kids Vitamin D3 Gummies (Ages 3+)**: https://amzn.to/4l7117a
- #6 NEW! Supplement — 7 — Pectasol Modified Citrus Pectin, Formulated in the USA**: https://amzn.to/3QUmZfN
- Supplement — 8 — Pendulum Metabolic Daily Dietary Supplement: https://amzn.to/4gY5wOm
- Cosmetic — 1 — Kora Organics Noni Face Oil: https://amzn.to/43hy2XO
- Cosmetic — 2 — Fluoride-free Toothpaste! — Orajel Kids Training Toothpaste in Natural Berry Fruity Flavor, Elmo Sesame Street Packaging, Fluoride-free: https://amzn.to/41wxtrY
- Cosmetic — 3 — Fluoride-free Toothpaste! — Miessence Mint Toothpaste: https://amzn.to/4bJc4PO
- Cosmetic — 4 — Fluoride-free Toothpaste! — Dr. Brown’s Fluoride-free Baby Toothpaste in Strawberry Flavor: https://amzn.to/3DCehzZ
- Cosmetic — 5 — Low-Fluoride Toothpaste! — Pegciz Kids Foam Toothpaste in Watermelon Flavor: https://amzn.to/3RgKEXV
- Cosmetic — 6 — Fluoride-free Toothpaste! — Kid’s Spry Tooth Gel with Xylitol in Original Flavor: https://amzn.to/41GZb4e
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**Lab Reports Pending / Not Yet Published – 3/30/2025 – Sunday
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Here’s a link to the third-party lab reports for all the foods, supplements, and cosmetic products we have tested, including those listed above:
https://tamararubin.com/2024/05/food-articles/
Stand by for more!
BONUS SIX: Below are SIX 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):
- Ingredient — (corn flour) —Maseca Instant Corn Masa Flour (Product of Mexico): https://amzn.to/4iR8qWN
- 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
- Fruit Snack — That’s It Apple Cherry Bars, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/4fHkSWV
- Oil — Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado oil, organic (postive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3BVQYQa
- Supplement — Now Sunflower Lecithin, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3AFdHzO
- Supplement — WishGarden Immune Boost Seasonal Rescue for Pregnancy: https://amzn.to/3Cd940N
Amazon links are affiliate links.
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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Very glad to see a clean product that is so versatile in cooking. In South Texas is it a staple for tortillas and other delicious dishes.
Thank you for listening to the community and testing actual products we all use!