Testing One Degree Organic Sprouted Quick Oats for Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, & Arsenic with Independent (Community-Funded), Third-Party Laboratory Testing

ByTamara Posted: Updated:
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Published May 18, 2025 — Sunday
A Quick Note from Tamara Rubin:

As many Lead Safe Mama community members are aware, we tested another product from this brand that came back with clean results, and that product is linked on our safer choices list below.  We’re assuming that the Cadmium-level in this product (which differs significantly from our previous findings, as seen in the chart and lab report below) is either the result of batch-specific contamination of the crop OR the result of the processing that may differ between the regular sprouted rolled oats (which tested clean when we first tested the product in June 2024) and the “quick oats” version. (The full original lab report for this sprouted quick oats product is at the bottom of this page. Please scroll down past all the text and shareable social media graphics to check it out!)

Given the significant amount of Cadmium found in this One Degree brand sprouted quick oats product (and the fact that the test results are a stark contrast to the oat product we tested from this same brand in June 2024), we included a photo with the manufacturer’s batch  info at the top of this article (we also included the manufacturer’s batch info on the lab report below). It is our recommendation that this batch (and product, until further testing is conducted) should not be consumed — it especially should not be consumed by young children. If, in response to these findings, you have concerns about this product and would like to file a complaint with the FDA, here’s the link to do so.

  • As this set of test results (for the One Degree Organic Sprouted Quick Oats product) raises concerns for batch-specific variation in products from this brand, we — in response to receiving this report from the lab — sent a new sample of the original non-“quick” rolled oat product with the yellow and white packaging (that tested clean when we sent it in June 2024) to the lab for re-testing. We will have those results for comparison soon.
  • We anticipated that once we published this report, the primary question readers would ask are, “Is this a problem for all One Degree Organic Foods oat products now?” and “Is the original sprouted rolled oats product from this brand still clean?” We want to be able to answer these questions as quickly as possible.
  • We should have those results back from the lab in the next day or two and will publish the report as soon as possible after receiving it.
CONSIDERATIONS:
  • As we stated early on (shortly after we began to expand and grow the Lead Safe Mama, LLC Community Collaborative Laboratory Testing Initiative in 2024), it has always been our commitment and intention to periodically re-test all of the “clean” items on our safer choices list (re-testing as funding permits) to ensure the products on our safer choices list remain clean.
    • Our goal is to re-test these products at least once a year, and twice a year (or more often) if funding permits.
    • We are retesting the One Degree Organic Sprouted Rolled Oats just about 11 months after our initial test for the product.
  • IF the original One Degree Organic Sprouted Rolled Oats product (yellow and white packaging) does not come back clean with this May 2025 re-test, we will remove it from our safer choices list.
  • If the original One Degree Organic Sprouted Rolled Oats product does come back clean with this re-test,  this information will help us (and the manufacturer of these products) identify the possible contamination sources, by giving us another data point to evaluate.
  • This month we also sent a THIRD One Degree Organic Foods oat product in for testing (the organic steel cut oats from this brand) so that  we would have recent test results of THREE One Degree Organic Foods oat products to compare (all tested within a short time-frame/ products purchased and tested in April and May of 2025).
  • While speculating about contamination sources prior to getting results back is not particularly productive, IF all three oat products do test positive for unsafe levels of Cadmium with this round of testing, we will have uncovered a significant concern for this brand. We are hoping this will not be the case.
  • We will be sharing this article with the company today (and will share any follow-up pieces as well).

In general, when we see Cadmium contamination levels this high in an organic food product (especially a grain crop), it is our understanding (based on research we have conducted to date) that the Cadmium contamination is most likely coming from the use of phosphate rock fertilizers with the crop in question. We would like to recommend that the manufacturer start by looking there in trying to identify and remedy the concern. As we are not intimately familiar with the processing that goes into making “Quick Oats” (vs. normal, “non-quick,” Sprouted Rolled Oats) — we also think it is reasonable to consider the hypothesis that the Cadmium contamination in this particular product may have been introduced with the processing of the product (and processing equipment should also be evaluated by the manufacturer as a possible source of contamination). Again, we will know more in just a few days when we get the new results back for the Sprouted Rolled Oats and The Steel Cut Oats from this brand, so please do check back on our social media pages and subscribe to our Patreon channel, or our newsletter, to make sure you get that information as soon as it is published.

I do want to note that — given the urgency in trying to identify whether or not this Cadmium-contamination is a batch specific concern or product-variant-specific/ processing  issue — we sent the two additional products in for testing without first raising funds to cover the cost of testing and reporting on those products. If you would like to support that testing and reporting, please do consider making a contribution to our general GoFundMe campaign. Thank you.

All One Degree products we have tested to date:

  1. One Degree Organic Sprouted Quick Oats — tested in April 2025
  2. One Degree Organic Sprouted Rolled Oats — tested in June 2024 (on our safer choices list) — Lab report here
  3. One Degree Organic Sprouted Brown Rice Crisps Cereal — did not test clean in October 2024 — Lab report here

The full original lab report for this supplement product is at the bottom of this article. Please scroll down. 

As far as safer choices for foods, supplements, and cosmetics go (including toothpastes and other personal care products), we have a few lists on our food and supplement testing landing page (linked here) 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 73 lab-tested 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 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).

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 (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! You can also support our work with a small monthly gift on Patreon. All of our newly published lab reports are first shared on Patreon before we share them on social media (our Patreon has an option to subscribe for free as well)!

Are you interested in seeing MORE safer choices?

Below is an expanding list of products (foods, supplements, cosmetics, and personal care items) that 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). The product examples below clearly demonstrate that companies can manufacture safer choices (at least from the perspective of a concern for heavy metals contamination).
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The limits of detection (low-threshold of detection) for each of the metals tested are noted 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). All our published lab reports are also linked here, on our lab testing landing page.
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Flavors (or specific variations) 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.

Products on our “safer choices” list are retested periodically (annually or more frequently, as funding permits). If a product no longer tests clean, it is removed from the list.

LIST UPDATED — June 4, 2025
Now at 68 products + 6 “bonus” options. Scroll down to see all 74 Lab-tested Safer Choices:
  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 Cereal — 1 — Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Panda Puffs: https://amzn.to/4fo1crf
  9. Breakfast Cereal — 2 — Nature’s Path Envirokidz Organic Corn Puffs Gorilla Munch: https://amzn.to/3FHZCDO
  10. Candy — 1 — Cavendish & Harvey Wild Berry Drops, not organic (Germany): https://amzn.to/3Z1Jxjr
  11. NEW! Candy — 2 — Haribo Gummy Bears** (Made in Germany, Not USA Produced): https://amzn.to/3FCGVlu
  12. Candy — 3 — Lindt White Chocolate Bar (Made in USA, New Hampshire): https://amzn.to/3OXkyIm
  13. Coffee & Tea — 1 — Chameleon Handcrafted Organic Cold Brew Concentrate: https://amzn.to/3OcrH77
  14. Coffee & Tea — 2 —Tao of Tea Organic Genmaicha (Tamara’s favorite, from Japan, sold by a Portland, Oregon-based company!): https://amzn.to/3Dp8Fsd
  15. Coffee & Tea — 3 — Califia Farms Almond Latte Cold Brew (XX Espresso): https://amzn.to/4gTTGoJ
  16. Coffee & Tea — 4 — Death Wish Organic Espresso Roast Ground Coffee (Multi-country origin, non-USA): https://amzn.to/3yo1eiL
  17. Cosmetic— 1 — Babo Botanicals Sensitive Baby Lotion: https://amzn.to/3YmKxy1
  18. Cosmetic — 2 — Kora Organics Noni Face Oil: https://amzn.to/43hy2XO
  19. Dairy — 1 — (cheese) — Babybel Mini Original Snack Cheese: https://amzn.to/3ZY5noO
  20. Dairy — 2 — (coffee creamer) —  Organic Valley Grassmilk Half and Half: https://amzn.to/4fHJIWT
  21. Fruit Snack — 1 — (bar) — Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Raspberry Lemonade Flavor: https://amzn.to/3XcFsIp
  22. Fruit Snack — 2 — (bar) —Pure Organic Layered Fruit Bars in Strawberry Banana Flavor: https://amzn.to/3WQEekA
  23. Fruit Snack — 3 — (pouch) — Costco’s Kirkland Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/4gOYpZ9
  24. Fruit Snack — 4 — (pouch) — GoGo Squeez Organic Apple Sauce Pouch: https://amzn.to/3XhWYLe
  25. Fruit Snack — 5 — (pouch) — Once Upon A Farm Dairy Free Fruit Smoothie Pouch in Strawberry Banana Swirl Flavor: https://amzn.to/3CPMbAw
  26. Infant Formula — 1 — Bobbie Organic Gentle Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron (pink and white can): https://amzn.to/3YYb849 
  27. Infant Formula — 2 — Bobbie Organic Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron (green and white can): https://amzn.to/3VOr4Vy
  28. Infant Formula — 3 — Bobbie Grass-Fed Milk-Based Powder with Iron (green can): https://amzn.to/3ZlAaeJ
  29. Infant Formula — 4 — ByHeart Infant Formula (USA-made, not organic): https://amzn.to/48DJjTb
  30. Infant Formula — 5 — HiPP Bio Combiotik Infant Formula Powder, Stage 1 (imported)
  31. Infant Formula — 6 — HiPP HA Stage PRE (0+ Months) Combiotic Formula  (imported)
  32. 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
  33. Infant Formula — 8 — Kendamil Goat Infant Formula (not organic): This product may be available at Target (it is not available on Amazon)
  34. Infant Formula — 9 — Kendamil Organic Follow-On Milk (European/ British Toddler Formula, for 6-12 months, Cow Milk): Not available on Amazon 
  35. Infant Formula — 10 — Kendamil Whole Milk Infant Formula (from Europe, pink can, not organic), available at Target
  36. Infant Formula — 11 — Kendamil Organic Infant Formula (Cow Milk): Not available on Amazon but may be available at Target
  37. Ingredient — 1 — (baking flour) — Jovial Organic Einkorn Flour (Italy): https://amzn.to/3LIqxix 
  38. Ingredient — 2 — (beans) — Jovial Organic Chickpeas, Product of Italy: https://amzn.to/4iRON1l
  39. Ingredient — 3 — (vinegar) — Napa Valley Naturals Organic Red Wine Vinegar (California): https://amzn.to/4jWhHOg
  40. Oil — 1 — (avocado) — Chosen Foods 100% Avocado Oil (not organic): https://amzn.to/3YDZSuv
  41. Oil — 2 — (coconut) — Dr. Bronner’s Regenerative Organic Coconut Oil: https://amzn.to/40xwBmv
  42. NEW! Oil — 3 —  (olive) — Bryan Johnson BluePrint Snake Oil Olive Oil** (not organic): https://amzn.to/4mMieUj
  43. Oil — 4 — (perilla seed) —  Dr. Adorable’s Organic Perilla Seed Oil (Korea): https://amzn.to/3NDt7Yc
  44. Plant-Based Milk — 1 — (coffee creamer) — Laird Superfood Coconut Creamer: https://amzn.to/4fItA7A
  45. Plant-Based Milk — 2 — (plant milk) — Kiki Milk Organic Plant-Based Milk (original flavor): https://amzn.to/3AA6Qrt
  46. Plant-Based Milk — 3 — (soy milk) — West Soy Unflavored Unsweetened Organic Soy Milk: https://amzn.to/4dwev8l
  47. Salt — 1 — Jacobsen’s Sea Salt (Oregon, USA): https://amzn.to/4dcbk5L
  48. NEW! Salt — 2 —Maldon Sea Salt Flakes**: https://amzn.to/4iTzWTE
  49. NEW! Salt — 3 — Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt** : https://amzn.to/4cVQMiy
  50. Seeds — 1 — (chia) —Navitas Organic, Gluten-Free Chia Seeds (Mexico): https://amzn.to/3YvE7xC
  51. Seeds — 2 —  (hemp) — Costco Kirkland Organic Hemp Seeds: https://amzn.to/4e05RP9
  52. Supplement — 1 — (adult) — Doctor’s Best Vitamin C with Q-C: https://amzn.to/4hlVvea
  53. Supplement — 2 — (adult) —Nordic Naturals Omega-3 Fish Oil: https://amzn.to/48q1j2V
  54. Supplement — 3 — (adult) — Pectasol Modified Citrus Pectin, Formulated in the USA: https://amzn.to/3QUmZfN
  55. Supplement — 4 — (adult) — Pendulum Metabolic Daily Dietary Supplement: https://amzn.to/4gY5wOm
  56. Supplement — 5 — (kids) —Baby Ddrops, Organic Vitamin D3 Supplement for Babies: https://amzn.to/49C3ktH
  57. Supplement — 6 — (kids) — Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Multivitamin Liquid Drops with Iron: https://amzn.to/3YPhcgx
  58. Supplement — 7 — (kids) —Mary Ruth’s Organic Toddler Elderberry Liquid Drops: https://amzn.to/42617TU
  59. Supplement — 8  — (kids) — Nordic Naturals Kids Vitamin D3 Gummies (Ages 3+): https://amzn.to/4l7117a
  60. Sweetener — 1 — (sugar) — Anthony’s Organic Granulated Cane Sugar: https://amzn.to/4jf6vLv
  61. Sweetener — 2— (xylitol) — Espure Organic Xylitol: https://amzn.to/3GsCSrU
  62. Sweetener — 3— (xylitol) —Now Real Food Granulated Xylitol: https://amzn.to/4cNWDpM
  63. Toothpaste — 1 — Fluoride-free Orajel Kids Training Toothpaste in Natural Berry Fruity Flavor with Elmo Sesame Street Packaging: https://amzn.to/41wxtrY
  64. Toothpaste — 2 — Fluoride-free Miessence Mint Toothpaste: https://amzn.to/4bJc4PO
  65. Toothpaste — 3 — Dr. Brown’s Fluoride-free Baby Toothpaste in Strawberry Flavor: https://amzn.to/3DCehzZ
  66. Toothpaste — 4 — Pegciz Kids Foam Toothpaste in Watermelon Flavor, Low Flouride (packaging varies, see report): https://amzn.to/3YzP68e
  67. Toothpaste — 5 — Kid’s Spry Fluoride-free Tooth Gel with Xylitol in Original Flavor: https://amzn.to/41GZb4e
  68. Toothpaste — 6 — Fluoride-free Essential Oxygen BR Certified Organic in Peppermint Flavor: https://amzn.to/4lARZ2J

**Lab reports pending/ Not yet published as of 6/4/2025

Here’s a link to our landing page featuring all the third-party lab reports for the foods, supplements, and cosmetic products we have published to date, including those listed above: https://tamararubin.com/2024/05/food-articles/

Stand by for more!

BONUS: 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).

  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. Ingredient — Maseca Instant Corn Masa Flour, Product of Mexico (positive for traces of Arsenic):  https://amzn.to/4iR8qWN
  3. Fruit Snack —  That’s It Apple Cherry Bars, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/4fHkSWV
  4. Oil — Chosen Foods 100% Pure Avocado oil, organic (postive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3BVQYQa
  5. Supplement — (adult) —  Now Sunflower Lecithin, not organic (positive for traces of Arsenic): https://amzn.to/3AFdHzO
  6. Supplement — (adult) —  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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5 Comments

  1. If you go to the One Degree website you can enter the 6 digit clean source code. It appears that this particular code is associated with a “new” farmer/farm – there is no information yet, just a blurb video that it’s coming.

    Reply

  2. This is a pity. I am very curious to see how the rest of the testing of the oats from this brand goes.
    When the sprouted rolled oats came back clean I was happy but a bit cautious about interpreting the results to mean any bag of that product would be clean because given how this product is available across Canada and the US and it’s just oats, it means there are many, many fields producing the oats for this product. Some farm soil may be good, some might be terrible. Maybe the problem with the quick oats is the processing, but that variation exists between batches of the rolled oats as well, seems very likely.

    Reply

  3. Let’s hope the yellow and white Sprouted Rolled Oats package tests clean as before.

    Thank you for sharing the results, Tamara.

    Reply

  4. Hoping the old fashioned oats still test clean! My kids eat it ALL the time! Thank you for retesting this product!

    Reply

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