Jun 20th Nutrition, Q&A Nutrition, Q&A What to Know About Our High Quality Standards and Heavy Metal Testing As a company rooted in neuroscience, we know that harmful levels of heavy metals can have a detrimental impact on early childhood brain development. For that reason, reducing heavy metal levels has been a foundational focus of Cerebelly since its launch in 2019.To understand how to reduce heavy metals, you have to first understand where they come from. Heavy metals are everywhere, from the water you drink to the organic vegetables you buy. This is because heavy metals are part of our environment. Some heavy metals are naturally found in the earth’s crust, and others come from industrial production and use. Heavy metals get transferred from the earth, to plants, to the creatures who eat those plants and then, well, back to the earth. So if you’re making a product that’s made with real ingredients grown from the soil, it’s not a question of whether you’ll have to deal with heavy metals but HOW you’ll deal with them. The question of “how” is one we’ve attacked relentlessly and we’re proud to share with you our process. To give some context, infant formula and child car seats are heavily regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but shockingly, baby food has minimal food safety regulations. It wasn’t until March 2021 that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched the Closer to Zero initiative to reduce exposure to toxic elements in food for babies and young children. We have proudly earned a Certification and Purity Award from Clean Label Project, a third-party non-profit that tests for contaminants including heavy metals, chemicals, plastics, pesticides, and more. Clean Label Project’s data has been peer-reviewed and their certification criteria align with California’s Proposition 65 standards and the European Union’s stringent regulations, underscoring their dedication to safeguarding vulnerable populations, particularly infants and young children. The question of “how” is one we’ve attacked relentlessly and we’re proud to share with you our process. Heavy Metals are often measured in percentage of California’s maximum allowable dose level (MADL – maximum allowable daily levels). Experts use this value because there are no federal limits for heavy metals in most foods, and California’s heavy metal standards are the most protective available. In recent results publicly shared by a third-party tester, no detectable lead or mercury was found – we’re proud of that. Regarding the Arsenic levels, our smart bars contain only 6% of the allowable “safe” level established by Prop 65. Now, let’s discuss Cadmium. The third-party test results show 23 mcg/kg (or 23ppb) of Cadmium, with 3 mcg/kg being the method detection limit (MDL). Converting 23mcg/kg to a 24g Cerebelly bar means that each smart bar contains only about half a microgram of Cadmium. For reference, recent Consumer Reports on baby food set the daily allowance for cadmium at 4.1 micrograms. Our product contains about 13% of the Maximum Allowable Daily Level (MADL), making us over seven times better than this benchmark. We are confident this would place us amongst the very best of tested products, baby food or otherwise. Additionally, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows up to 5 micrograms of cadmium per liter of drinking water. Therefore, the amount of cadmium in a Cerebelly bar is roughly equivalent to what you might find in about 3 ounces of American drinking water*. To help put into further context: *References: 1, 2, 3, 4 Now here’s what we do above industry requirements:1. We find the best regions with the lowest heavy metal level in the soil, then work with the farmers to test batches in the crops for heavy metal levels, and only pick those batches that are lowest. You might not believe this, but an old barn with lead paint is enough to tarnish the soil for years. We make sure the soil our ingredients are grown in is nowhere near those farms. Of course, we also closely follow our USDA organic and non-GMO certifications to ensure we source the highest quality ingredients. 2. We test EVERY BATCH, every time, and we throw out the batches that don’t meet our strict criteria. We pull random samples from each batch and a third party tests it to verify our standards have been made. 3. We don’t shy away from nutrient dense and delicious ingredients that are at risk of heavy metal levels. Instead, we work until we find the best crops with the lowest levels. A few of our ingredients are nutritional powerhouses — for example, carrots and sweet potatoes — and since they grow in the ground, they are susceptible to absorbing heavy metals in the soil. For those ingredients, even organic ingredients, we ask our farmers and purveyors to test their ingredients and agree to specifications for low heavy metal content. We don’t stop there; we send samples from each batch of produce off to a third-party certified lab to test for lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic before we use that ingredient to make any Cerebelly flavor. We work with others, and continually expose ourselves to their random testing, including that of Clean Label Project. 4. We help create change so that our standard inspires industry change. Cerebelly sits on the Clean Label Project Baby Coalition Group to help advocate for better standards and educate consumers, retailers, and health care providers alike to spur industry change. We’re working hard and are proud of our work, but can we do better? Of course we can. Everyone can. Cerebelly’s values are real science, relentless revolution, and earned trust. Our promise to you is that we will never be satisfied; what we’ve done up to this point is only the foundation for what we will continue to achieve in the future. As we continue to revolutionize the way we innovate and test our ingredients and products, we will relentlessly strive to get closer to zero. Earning customer trust and ensuring the safety of your loved ones is our top priority. That’s why, by the end of the year, we will be self-publishing our heavy metal and contaminant levels, making them accessible for anyone to review. While we work on getting that system up and running, we are going to stay true to our word and provide transparency to the hard work we are doing.Our mission is to get closer to zero, and to lead this industry in providing the most nutritious foods for your child’s growth and development. So we want to make sure we approach these conversations with science and respect. We are gathering some more data and will be continuously providing additional resources from experts and scientists on this page regularly. We want our customers to feel confident in the choices they’re making for their family and loved ones and empowered to speak to their health care provider about the topic of heavy metals and testing. Below are handful of resources around the topic of Heavy Metals and Baby Food we recommend: What you need to know about Prop 65 What you need to know about Clean Label Project Prevention of Childhood Lead Toxicity – AAP Policy Statement Recommendations on Medical Management of Childhood Lead Exposure and Poisoning – PEHSU Resource Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention – CDC Resources Lead Exposure and Lead Poisoning – AAP Resources Pediatric Environmental Health, 4th Edition – AAP Policy Manual Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units Blood Lead Levels in Children: What Parents Need to Know – HealthyChildren.org Bright Futures – Prevention and health promotion for infants, children, adolescents and their families FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative More to come Have more questions? Send us an email at support@cerebelly.com and we will be sure to get back to you!
