Superfoods and heavy metals

In October 2018, a supporting retailer
asked the TOPIC team to meet and discuss with a concerned consumer about heavy metal content in various Superfoods products.

The consumer’s story
The consumer, Gail Caitlin, states that she ate vast quantities of various Superfoods products alongside a clean diet and started experiencing chronic tiredness, brain fog and tremors. Tests showed that her levels of cadmium, mercury and aluminium were very high and she began researching the origin of these elements.

It is to be noted that other consumers with heavy metal toxicity have also come forward to query the heavy metal levels in Superfoods’ products.

Response from Superfoods
The initial response from the MD of Superfoods, Peter Daniel, towards the consumer was somewhat dismissive:                                                                                

“In the case of superfoods the potential tiny amount present is far outweighed by their fantastic nutritional profiles. So no, I am not going to put on our boxes “like any natural food may contain traces of metals”.

I suggest you look into other exposure sources in your life as your metal issues certainly did not come from our fine products.”   

After an initial meeting at Organic Zone, TOPIC contacted Superfoods who were very transparent and shared with us lab results and invoices for the three products discussed, namely Organic Goji Berries, Organic Chia Seeds and Organic Raw Cacao Powder.

Superfoods’ Imports & Systems Manager, Callan Wolff, said the following:

“Thanks for the email regarding heavy metals. We value the work that Topic does in the industry and are happy to address the concerns for your supporters. With each batch of product we receive a Certificate of Analysis from suppliers, including heavy metal results to ensure conforming levels. We also test independently when there are specific concerns surrounding the global production and processing of certain products. The majority of our products are organically certified and all are non-GMO and pesticide-free, so the quality and integrity of our products are very close to heart for us. If extra testing is required, we are more than willing to do so.”

Wolff sent documentation of COAs & heavy metal analyses from their suppliers with batch trace-ability, plus their own lab analysis for their chocolate bars done in August 2017 (see table below).

The regulations
As far as we could establish, there is no required labelling in SA for heavy metals but Regulations 500 of 2004 and 545 of 2008 specify maximum permitted levels for those heavy metals which can be found here: www.health.gov.za/…/2015-04-30-09-11-35?…regulations…maximum-levels…metals…

According to the test results supplied from Superfoods, the products were both SA and EU regulation compliant.

Diving into the heavy metals in foodstuffs issue is a very broad and complex topic, so to narrow our focus, we looked at cadmium which has become a global issue with cacao and chocolate products. 

International Cadmium levels
Cadmium exerts toxic effects on the kidneys, the skeletal and respiratory systems, and is classified as a human carcinogen. Even small doses build up in the tissues and brain, kidneys, liver and neurological system, and consequences are worse for children than for adults. 

According to California’s Proposition 65, the Maximum Allowable Dose Level (MADL) is 4.1 micrograms/day or 0.0041mg/day (oral intake).

According to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) is 2.5 micrograms/kg body weight.

Cadmium	Regulations in mg	Details
California Prop 65	0.0041mg/day	Maximum Allowable Dose Level per day
EFSA levels	0.0025mg/kg of body weight	Tolerable weekly intake (TWI) E.g. if you weigh 60kg: 60 x 0.0025mg = 0.15 mg per week = 0.02mg per day
EU regulations 1881/2006	0.60 mg/kg	From 1 January 2019
A: Superfoods Cacao powder – supplier test	0.44 mg/kg
C: Superfoods Cacao powder – TOPIC test	<0.01mg/kg
B: Superfoods Cacao  paste – consumer test	1.35±0.28 mg/kg
D: Superfoods Cacao paste – TOPIC test	1.6mg/kg

What do these results mean for the consumer?

According to the Superfoods’ original test level (A), if a consumer eats 10g of Superfoods Cacao powder per day (equivalent to 4 level teaspoons or 10,000mg), they will ingest 0,0044 mg per serving.

This is just above the allowable limit according to Proposition 65 and depending on actual daily serving size, would require a consumer safety warning labelling in that US state. It is however within the new EU range of 0.60mg/kg effective from 2019.

Consumer’s test results
In early December 2018, the consumer sent several Superfoods products for heavy metal testing. The results for Cadmium showed:

• Organic Raw Cacao Paste: 1.35±0.28 mg/kg
• Organic Raw Macha Powder: 0.405±0.084 mg/kg
• Organic Raw Chia Seeds: below detection limit.

According to this result, if a consumer eats 10g of this batch of Superfoods Cacao paste per day, they will ingest 13.5 micrograms of cadmium per serving which is triple the allowable limit according to Proposition 65. Also, 1.35mg/kg is over double the 2019 EU compliance range of 0.60mg/kg.

TOPIC’s test results
We sent both the cacao paste and the cacao powder for testing with vastly varying results. The cacao powder tested for less than 0.01mg/kg detected and the cacao paste showed 1.6mg/kg.

Response from Superfoods founder & MD, Peter Daniel
“From research I have done, cacao is extremely dense in most minerals that are naturally found in soil. Hence it appears common that cacao products worldwide get results like this.

“Our supplier is the most environmentally conscious cacao supplier in the world, and are dedicated to organic and biodynamic agriculture as well as efforts to protect the rainforest.

“If indeed the Cadmium levels are this high we will reduce the recommended daily usage amount on the packaging, although we also recognise that we are within the EU limits and are EU certified organic.”

“We received an email from our supplier to say that they are testing their cacao per farmer batch and are only selling cacao tested below the new EU limits. They have assured us that the next batch we receive will be compliant to the new limits.”

Superfoods have posted a blog article about the issue: https://superfoods.co.za/2019/03/12/what-is-cadmium-and-why-is-everyone-talking-about-it/                                         

Meeting of stakeholders
At the beginning of March, Superfoods, the retailer, the consumer and TOPIC, met to discuss a way forward which resulted in Superfoods commiting to putting a warning label on their cacao powder and cacao paste products.

After some deliberation, Superfoods agreed to put a sticker on the products that says the following:

Cacao grown in natural rich volcanic soils can contain higher amounts of minerals including cadmium. To keep exposure to heavy metals within safe levels, according to new EU regulations, daily consumption should be no more than 5g.

Additional comments
“From my own research, only about 20% of ingested Cadmium is absorbed but it is NOT excreted very well and therefore accumulates over time,” says T/Dr Deon Swart, ND Ethno. Med, ND Nat. Med., D. Herb. “It should also be stated that we shouldn’t single out Superfoods as the only culprit. All cacao should be investigated.”

Conclusion…
Over the last few years many reports have been emerging worldwide about the dangerous levels of lead and cadmium found in numerous chocolate brands. A 2018 court case involving companies such as Nestle, Lindt, Mars and Hershey brought by the NPO As You Sow was resolved by all parties agreeing to a joint study to investigate and report on the main sources of lead and cadmium.

Within South Africa, there is currently no published testing that has taken place across the range of health-conscious cacao products nor across the more mainstream chocolate products available. Industry wide testing of South African products would be the logical next step.

Related specifically to this cacao investigation, we consider this warning label put on the Superfoods cacao products as a positive step in line with international standards. Superfoods has additionally committed that their new batches will be within the EU compliance range.

Superfoods has also stated that they have sourced a zero cadmium cacao from Africa and it will be in their range within 3 months.