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lead database / candy
tested by NYC NPSD, Pure Earth, King County + 3 more · CC-BY-SA 4.0

candy

imported candies, mostly tested by NYC's department of health. tamarind candies and chili-based sweets historically dominate this list, colorful wrappers and processing equipment have both been documented vehicles for lead contamination.

heads-up: the keyword categorizer drops some "national plates" from tajikistan into this bucket because of how the source labeled them. those are really cookware. the methodology footer explains why this happens. ignore those rows when you're looking at the candy story.

every row is a real test. click any product name to read the original report.

297products tested
17brands
374measurements
download candy.csv (374 rows) ← back to hub
🔍
loading 374 measurements...

browse by type

tap any type to see the actual products tested. units are ppb (parts per billion). 1,000 ppb = 1 ppm = 0.0001%. anything above ~1,000 ppb is elevated for food. anything above ~100,000 ppb is extreme.

loading 374 measurements from CDN...

top 10 highest lead concentrations

  1. 266,000,000 ppb (266,000 ppm = 26.6% by mass), National plate with a pattern (Tajikistan)
  2. 133,400,000 ppb (133,400 ppm = 13.3% by mass), The plate "Osh Bulsin" № 1 (Tajikistan)
  3. 100,700,000 ppb (100,700 ppm = 10.1% by mass), The plate "Osh Bulsin" # 2 (Tajikistan)
  4. 44,700,000 ppb (44,700 ppm = 4.5% by mass), Enameled clay jug (Mexico)
  5. 34,300,000 ppb (34,300 ppm = 3.4% by mass), Glazed clay cup (Mexico)
  6. 14,600,000 ppb (14,600 ppm = 1.5% by mass), Painted earthenware cup (Peru)
  7. 14,300,000 ppb (14,300 ppm = 1.4% by mass), CUP (Turkey)
  8. 13,800,000 ppb (13,800 ppm = 1.4% by mass), Saucer (plate) (Nigeria)
  9. 12,000,000 ppb (12,000 ppm = 1.2% by mass), Frozen tea set (Georgia)
  10. 11,200,000 ppb (11,200 ppm = 1.1% by mass), Painted plate (Georgia)

top 10 highest, brand-name only

  1. 72,800 ppb (72.8 ppm), Tattoo ink - Viking-Ink DYNAMIC CHOCOLATE (Dynamic · Spain)
  2. 8,780 ppb (8.8 ppm), Tattoo ink set - 1)Bright Black 2)True Magenta 3)Dark Chocolate (Hao Tattoo · People's Republic of China)
  3. 3,200 ppb (3.2 ppm), Tattoo ink - Dark Chocolate (Intenze · United States)
  4. 360 ppb (0.360 ppm), Trolli Sour Bursting Crawlers (Trolli · Not available)
  5. 200 ppb (0.200 ppm), braidbetter�in Chocolate, braiding hair (Rebundle · Not available)
  6. 190 ppb (0.190 ppm), Pulparindo Watermelon (artificial flavor) Candy (Palparindo · Mexico)
  7. 190 ppb (0.190 ppm), Tama-Roca Tamarind Fruit Candy (Pellizco · Mexico)
  8. 70.0 ppb (0.070 ppm), Hard candy, watermelon (elaboradopor · Mexico)
  9. 50.0 ppb (0.050 ppm), Cough Drop, Menthe Noire (Mundo Dulce · Mexico)
  10. 50.0 ppb (0.050 ppm), Candy, hard (Vero · Mexico)
researcher view: full sortable table (all 374 rows)

sortable by any column. filter by metal / source / country.

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product brand country metal ppb year evidence source
loading 374 rows from CDN...
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where the data comes from

nine open-license datasets, stitched together. each row in the table above links to the original source.

units & methodology

every concentration is normalized to ppb (parts per billion), which is identical to µg/kg. 1 ppm = 1,000 ppb = 1 mg/kg. 10,000,000 ppb = 1% by mass. methodology and limits of detection vary per source. always click through to the original record before quoting a number.

limitations to keep in mind

1. categorization is keyword-based. some borderline products may sit in the wrong bucket.
2. there is no cross-source dedup. the same product may show up in NYC NPSD and king county and pure earth as three separate rows.
3. about 11% of rows are recall records (CPSC, FDA) that don't carry a ppb value. those show as "recall record" in the data column.
4. some values are extreme, up to 1,000,000,000 ppb (= 100% by mass). these are real measurements of solid-state lead in religious amulets, kohl powder, or jewelry charms. not edible.

download the raw data

download unified_v3.csv (67,497 rows · 12 MB)

license: CC-BY-SA 4.0. use this data for anything. attribute as "detectlead.com Lead Database" with a link back to this page, plus the original source for any row you cite. derivative works must use the same license.

other categories

baby food (1,002)spices (2,085)cookware (2,340)cosmetics (1,542)supplements (840)toys (1,372)food (other) (420)electronics (753)paint (500)jewelry (369)religious & ceremonial (122)vapes (41)

questions, corrections, or want to add a source? email eric@fluorospect.com or call 631-461-1838.

i made these. they are free.

six tools my family uses to keep our kid under the fda action threshold. type your email. you get all six on this page in two seconds.

  1. 1. Baby-Proof Lead Risk Calculatoran 8-question read of your house. returns a risk band you can defend to a pediatrician.
  2. 2. Blood Lead Calculator1,370 foods scored by purity labs with icp-ms. type what your kid ate this week, get µg/day vs the fda irl.
  3. 3. Baby Food Database18,000 lots, updated daily. search by brand, ingredient, lot.
  4. 4. Baby Bottle Review Sheetevery bottle on the market scored on lead and the substances that show up next to it.
  5. 5. Leaducational Pages2,165 dishes scanned with a niton xl5 plus, sorted by brand and pattern.
  6. 6. Lead Framework Book106 pages. learn, examine, abate, detox, live. the parent protocol that runs the whole house.

no spam. one short email every few days. leave any day you want, one click. by email i mean a parable and one thing to try, not a corporate newsletter.

here you go. six things, one tab each.

i copied your email to the list. the first email lands in a couple minutes. open the pack below now.

  1. 1. Baby-Proof Lead Risk Calculatoran 8-question read of your house and a band you can defend to a pediatrician.open →
  2. 2. Blood Lead Calculator1,370 foods scored by purity labs with icp-ms.open →
  3. 3. Baby Food Database18,000 lots. search by brand, ingredient, lot.open →
  4. 4. Baby Bottle Review Sheetevery bottle on the market scored on lead.open →
  5. 5. Leaducational Pages2,165 dishes scanned with a niton xl5 plus.open →
  6. 6. Lead Framework Book106 pages. learn, examine, abate, detox, live.open →

bookmark this page. the database and the leaducational pages update almost every day. the bottle sheet and the dish list grow as the lab finishes new runs.

or, if you want, grab a kit.

the information is free. the kit is for parents who, after reading the framework, decide they want to walk around the nursery with a drop bottle tonight. one drop of fluoro-spec on the painted side of a plate. if it's lead, it glows green in seconds. no lab.

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