How does the Hive Five address heavy metals in food?Updated 9 months ago
We feature information about heavy metals in two areas within the Hive Five: Ingredient Integrity and Responsible Production. We include this information when relevant on the Ingredient Integrity and Responsible Production sections of a product page.
Ingredient Integrity
We prioritize brands who choose organic or regenerative ingredients
These brands are prioritizing the health of the soil that the ingredient is grown in and avoiding agricultural inputs that may increase heavy metal contamination, including synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and sewage sludge. These practices can reduce the amount and bioavailability of heavy metals in the soil, thus reducing exposure for the ingredients themselves.
We share when a brand is choosing low risk ingredients
We highlight products that choose ingredients with a lower risk of heavy metal contamination. That does not mean these ingredients are more or less nutrient dense, simply that they are less likely to absorb heavy metals in their growing or processing, or they are sourced from regions less likely to be contaminated.
And that’s where responsible production comes in.
Responsible Production
We require brands in high risk categories to meet California’s Proposition 65 standards
We prioritize brands who test for heavy metals, and we share the testing that our brands take part in. For high concern categories* this testing is required. We use strict limits available from reputable sources (the European Union and Prop 65) to ensure that there is no risk of toxicity from these products. Prop 65 maximum allowable dose levels (MADLs) are 1,000 times lower than the levels that may cause harm, as determined by the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA).
Our standards are ever evolving and we plan to help push the industry forward by creating more access to testing, conducting independent testing as needed, and ultimately making testing a requirement for all brands on Hive. For now, please reference a product's page to learn more about their testing.
Categories and ingredients of highest concern:
Category | Risk | Hive Requirement |
Baby Food | Contaminants like heavy metals are especially hazardous to infants and children | ✓ Clean Label Project Verified for 200+ contaminants ✓ Demeter Biodynamic (preferred) and USDA Organic |
Rice | High risk of arsenic absorption, especially in brown rice or rice grown in the southern U.S. | ✓ CA Prop 65 compliance: Naturally Occurring Arsenic in Rice ✓ South Asian and CA origin preferred; avoid TX, LA, & AR origin |
Seafood | Widespread mercury bioaccumulation, especially in tertiary species like swordfish, shark, and bigeye tuna | ✓ Prioritize FDA-EPA Best Choices species ✗ No species from FDA-EPA Choices to Avoid |
Spices | Potential lead contamination during drying or grinding process or lead chromate adulteration to add color | ✓ CA Prop 65 Compliance & EFSA compliance for lead in spices ✓ Free from fillers or additives like lead chromate |
Chocolate | Cadmium absorption, especially in volcanic soils; Potential lead contamination during drying or fermentation | ✓ CA Prop 65 compliance: Chocolate Products (varies by cacao content) |
Supplements | Minerals, herbs, and protein powders may be contaminated with various heavy metals depending on ingredient sources | ✓ CA Prop 65 compliance |
Safer practices
When brands go above and beyond to reduce their exposure to heavy metals outside of testing - eg. through improvements to their supply chain or production practices - we will share that information.
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