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Published June 13, 2025 — Friday
A Quick Note from Tamara Rubin:

Although the toxicant levels found in this product are 100% legal (by nearly all currently available standards, especially any standards/ limits in the United States), it tested positive for unsafe levels of Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, and Arsenic and should not be consumed, especially by children.

“Legal” is not the same as “safe” or “healthful.” All relevant federal agencies agree there is no safe level of Lead exposure for human beings — especially children. Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic are all classified as carcinogens. Separately, I simply don’t understand how anyone can justify using (or eating) a product that tests positive for any amount of Mercury at this point in history, with all we know about the health impacts of Mercury (knowledge that has been available for more than a century, actually).

The only reason to be eating chocolate products today in 2025 (absent independent, third-party testing confirming that a specific product does not test positive for toxicants) is because you have chosen to flirt with the consequences: Increased risks for cancer, cognitive decline, heart disease, kidney failure, arthritis, infertility/ reproductive disorders, birth complications, compromised immune system concerns, and a host of other health impairments that have been linked to heavy metals exposure through multiple scientific studies over the past century (more on these symptoms here, and here).

A century or more ago (before the industrial revolution), it may have been possible to produce healthful and uncontaminated cocoa products, however independent testing (from Lead Safe Mama, LLC as well as multiple other agencies and organizations) has repeatedly demonstrated this as simply no longer the case.  All milk chocolate and dark chocolate products are contaminated with heavy metals at concerning levels. We discuss this in my documentary film, which you can watch here.

If you have “unexplained” health issues and are still consuming chocolate, this might be your sign to stop.

Some additional reading you might find helpful

1. Here’s two links on testing your kiddos for Lead and other heavy metals:
   • https://tamararubin.com/2024/06/when-should-babies-be-tested-for-lead-how-often-should-babies-be-tested-for-lead/
   • https://tamararubin.com/2020/05/hair-and-urine-testing-for-metals/
2. Here’s a link discussing whether you should worry about exposure from this product (or other incidental/ seasonal/ activity-based possible sources of Lead exposure):
   • https://tamararubin.com/2021/07/im-concerned-that-my-child-may-have-just-inhaled-potentially-leaded-fireworks-fumes-what-should-i-do/
3. Here’s another relevant link to this conversation — including reasons why you or your child may not test positive for Lead  (or other toxicants) even if you have been regularly using a contaminated product:
   • https://tamararubin.com/2025/04/i-tested-negative/
4. Here’s an article about natural detox protocols:
   • https://tamararubin.com/2019/07/garlic/

Again, thank you for reading and thank you for sharing this information in your communities.

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The Lead Safe Mama, LLC Laboratory Testing Initiative is a community-collaborative project (started in March of 2024) through which members of the greater Lead Safe Mama online community nominate products for laboratory testing and then collectively crowd-fund to cover the costs of the lab testing and reporting for nominated products. To help Lead Safe Mama, LLC test and report on more items (in search of safer choices for families), please contribute ($15? $25? Or whatever you can afford!) to any of our open campaigns, linked here. 

• Click through this landing page to see more lab reports for products we have tested, organized by category.
• To see the original lab report for this product, scroll down to the bottom of the page (again, the report is below the shareable social media graphic summarizing the test results at the very bottom of this page).
• Our lab-tested safer choices list is below as well. 
  

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

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As far as safer choices for foods, supplements, and cosmetics go (including toothpaste and other personal care products), we have a few lists on our laboratory 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. 

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!

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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 seven 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 new 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!

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

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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.

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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

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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/

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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. 

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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:

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