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That viral post about lead in your matcha isn’t telling you the whole story, and as a former environmental toxins attorney, I’m tired of watching fear-based misinformation spread. Recent sensationalized reports about lead in food have created unnecessary panic, especially around brands like Pique Tea’s matcha and Redmond Salt. While no amount of lead is technically “safe,” context matters. We live in a world where trace amounts of lead exist naturally in soil, meaning it’s present in many healthy, organic foods we eat daily.

The science is clear: when you look at actual serving sizes and compare them to FDA guidelines, many of these “shocking” reports are missing crucial context. For example, Pique Tea’s matcha contains just 0.14 micrograms of lead per serving – four times lower than California’s strict Prop 65 limits and well within safe consumption guidelines.

In this episode, I break down the real numbers, explain what safety levels actually mean, and give you the clarity you need to make informed decisions about your food. Whether you’re concerned about recent food safety reports or just want to understand how to interpret these numbers, you’ll learn how to separate facts from fear-based marketing.

In today’s episode, we’re chatting about: 

• How to understand parts per billion and what these measurements actually mean 
• Why California’s Prop 65 warnings appear on organic vegetables 
• The truth about lead in soil and how it affects our food supply 
• Real numbers and context behind recent viral food safety posts 
• Practical guidelines for making informed decisions about food safety

Where This All Started

I am so tired of the sensationalized reports coming out of Lead Safe Mama’s Blog. If you’ve listened to other episodes I’ve done about lead poisoning, you know this isn’t personal. I just disagree with the way that she presents her information. There’s no context, and without context, all that’s left is confusion and fear. I don’t want you to be afraid of eating food that is good for you.

Lead Safe Mama is a blogger who has two children with lead poisoning. I totally understand why she started this crusade against lead poisoning. She has actually done some incredible things, such as bringing to light lead in food and other products.

I don’t want to discount her work, but this is what she does: She crowdsources, gets money, and sends products off to labs to be tested for lead. Then, she writes a blog post about the results. She puts the data into a table and creates social media graphics that go wild. People are terrified of the information she’s sharing.

If you’re following people like this and reading these reports, there is a big difference between being educated and aware and having better options to choose from that would give you some peace of mind. If you’re standing in a store and you’re aware that you should avoid canola oil and corn syrup in ketchup, and there are two kinds of ketchup to choose from, and you’re educated and aware, you would buy the healthier ketchup. That’s not causing you distress; that is just making an educated consumer choice. 

But when you look at a graphic that’s full of red and screaming at you that there’s 1,440% more lead in here than what your baby should have, it is just intended to scare you. It’s not even considering actual serving sizes, so it’s not giving you the context for daily consumption limits. 

I’m sure deep down she believes that she’s just informing, but this is how it comes across. It’s intended to scare, not to educate. I think having balance, context, and perspective matters so much.

What is Prop 65?

Proposition 65 is a program that, while it has its flaws, it also has benefits. They require that anybody selling a food product in California with a level of more than 0.5 micrograms a day, based on serving size, is required to have a Prop 65 warning label. You can walk into a grocery store and buy organic vegetables, and they will have Prop 65 warning labels on them. Those vegetables and some fruits may have trace amounts of lead in them from the soil than the Prop 65 limit. 

FDA Perspective on Lead in Food

What does the FDA say? They actually have been doing a phenomenal job of bringing down the amount of lead poisoning. They’re working on bringing down the levels for diagnosing a child with lead poisoning. Their zero-lead heavy metal program has done a lot of amazing things. 

No amount of lead is safe, but we live in a polluted world, and there’s lead everywhere. You can’t avoid it. It’s like saying we should all live without PFAs, but PFAs are everywhere. It’s never going to happen. We need to be realistic about this topic. Soil has lead, and food comes from soil. Stressing out about things you don’t control isn’t good for anybody’s health.

The FDA introduced legislation in 2021 about baby food safety. I think we need to better regulate the amount of heavy metals found in baby food, especially food imported from other countries. We do have a food safety issue. In the 2021 Baby Food Safety Act legislation, the recommended limit for babies from zero to 36 months old was five parts per billion.

That legislation never passed and never became law. Legitimate science was used to introduce that legislation, stating that it would be good for a baby or toddler up to 36 months old to have less than five parts per billion. But you have to extrapolate that into serving size and what they’re eating daily to understand the data. That is the missing context. 

What is the rule of law? The FDA has a program called Closer to Zero, which is its heavy metal reduction initiative. In January 2023, it set a goal for children to not have more than 2.2 micrograms per day.

Before panicking over a scary headline, ask yourself the context. Should you seek out more information on this topic and be careful where you get it? Absolutely.

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