Cadmium
Aluminum
Copper
Tin
Chemical Contaminants
Bisphenol A (BPA)
Hexane
Pesticides
Food Ingredients as Contaminants
Aspartame
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)
Artificial Colors
Chemical Preservatives
Emulsifiers and Thickening Agents
Molecular Alteration of Food
Animal Feed Contaminants
PART 2
The Health Ranger’s Guide to Natural Detoxification
PART 3
The Data
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Endnotes
Index
To pursue scientific research into food forensics, I oversaw the construction of a food forensics laboratory in central Texas. The lab’s central feature was an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instrument, called ICP-MS for short. It has the unique ability to detect metals and elements including nickel, lead, mercury, or magnesium at very low concentrations—in almost any sample you might want tested. I call it “Star Trek technology” because it seems to function almost as if by magic. But it isn’t magic. It’s just “sufficiently advanced technology,” as Arthur C. Clarke once explained.
In the months after its installation and calibration by expert chemists and instrumentation engineers, the ICP-MS instrument began to lift the veil on what was really present in all sorts of foods: junk foods, fast foods, super-foods, herbal supplements, vitamins, and more.
That’s when things began to get weird.
When the instrument identified very high levels of lead and cadmium in popular vegan protein products, I contacted the manufacturers of these products to suggest they pursue a voluntary recall of their products. A recall wasn’t an option, I was informed, and I was urged to be careful about releasing anything publicly that would “impact sales revenues” of these companies.
When I discovered that popular ginkgo herbs grown in China contained a whopping 5 parts per million (ppm) of toxic lead—an element proven to cause cancer and brain damage—I was told that the lead contamination was “naturally occurring” and therefore didn’t matter. Yet when I tested ginkgo herbs grown on U.S. soil, they tested remarkably clean, showing near-zero levels of heavy metals. It turns out that when ginkgo is grown in contaminated soils, it accumulates heavy metals in the herb. (This should not be surprising to anyone.)
When I found very high levels of tungsten (greater than 10,000 parts per billion, or ppb) in superfoods imported from China and Southeast Asia, I was told that tungsten was of no concern because “the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has no limits on tungsten,” and that therefore everyone should ignore the presence of this heavy metal in popular superfood products.
When I discovered an astonishing 11 ppm of lead in mangosteen superfood powder imported from Thailand, I went public with the finding and warned people not to eat mangosteen powder unless it had been tested. In response, I was blacklisted from several importers and not allowed to purchase their raw materials anymore. (My company purchases raw materials to manufacture certified organic foods and superfoods in Texas, and we meticulously test each material before purchasing it in volume for manufacturing.)
Over and over again, as I began to find alarming levels of lead, aluminum, tungsten, mercury, arsenic, and other toxic elements in everyday foods, superfoods, pet treats, and even certified organic foods, the response I got from manufacturers of these products was, “Don’t tell anyone!”
Before disclosing some of my results, it’s important to understand the thresholds at which heavy metals begin to affect human health.
Mercury: According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mercury, even in small amounts, may cause serious health problems, earning it a spot on the top ten list of the most dangerous chemicals to humans. The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) maximum containment level goals for mercury in drinking water is 2 ppb.1
Tungsten: Cases of acute poisoning by this heavy metal can be caused by just 5 mg/L, or approximately 5 ppm. Exposure to high levels of tungsten has been linked to an increase in strokes.2
Lead: While there is no safe blood lead level in children, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends the threshold at which a child is deemed to have lead poisoning is 5 micrograms per deciliter of blood, or 50 ppb.3
Arsenic: Long-term exposure to this heavy metal through drinking water and food may cause neurotoxicity, cancer, developmental issues, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, according to the WHO. The EPA has set the arsenic standard for drinking water at .010 ppb.4
Cadmium: When ingested in high doses, this heavy metal can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal cramping, and severe gastroenteritis, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). The reference dose for dietary exposure to cadmium is 0.001 mg/kg/d.5
In just the first few months of ICP-MS research on samples of foods, vitamins, and consumer products, I discovered
• Over 500 ppb mercury in cat treats and fish-based dog treats
• Over 10 ppm tungsten in rice protein products
• Over 5 ppm lead in ginkgo herb products
• Over 11 ppm lead in mangosteen powder
• Over 400 ppb lead in cacao powders
• Over 500 ppb lead and more than 2,000 ppb cadmium in rice proteins
• Over 6 ppm arsenic
