food (other)

where the data comes from

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

• AB 899 →
  California AB 899 (baby food disclosure)
  california state law forcing every baby food maker selling in CA to publish lab results for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury for every lot. effective jan 2025. 47,802 measurements across 828 products from 31 brands.
  license: public disclosure (state of california)
• HBBF 2019 →
  Healthy Babies Bright Futures (2019 baby food report)
  168 baby foods purchased off store shelves and independently tested for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. the report that changed the public conversation about heavy metals in baby food. 456 measurements.
  license: cite HBBF
• HBBF 2025 →
  Healthy Babies Bright Futures (2025 rice report)
  follow-up focused on rice and rice-based products, where arsenic is the main story. 175 products tested across 106 brands. 554 measurements.
  license: cite HBBF
• NYC NPSD →
  NYC department of health non-pharmaceutical surveillance database
  NYC inspectors have been buying spices, cosmetics, supplements, cookware, religious products, candies, toys, and anything else they find suspicious off bodega and import-store shelves since 2008, then lab-testing them. 8,494 measurements across 12 categories from 121 countries.
  license: NYC open data (CC0)
• King County →
  King County (WA) hazardous waste program
  puget sound county hazardous waste program. store-shelf surveys for cookware, dishes, cosmetics, spices, jewelry, and toys. 2,197 measurements covering 1,580 products from 668 brands and 61 countries, 2019 to 2025.
  license: public records (king county)
• Pure Earth →
  Pure Earth global lead exposure surveys
  global NGO (formerly blacksmith institute). market surveys for cookware, spices, cosmetics, paint, and toys across 27 countries, mostly low- and middle-income markets where lead enforcement is weak. 5,153 measurements covering 3,472 products.
  license: cite Pure Earth (CC-BY)
• CPSC →
  US consumer product safety commission recalls
  federal recall notices going back to 1973. reactive, these are products already pulled from the US market for danger. mostly toys, paint, cookware, and jewelry. most rows do not carry ppb numbers, just the product and the reason. 492 records.
  license: public domain (federal)
• FDA →
  US food and drug administration recalls
  federal recall notices for food, drug, and cosmetic products. also reactive, products pulled after a problem was identified. mostly spices, supplements, and a slice of baby food. 218 records.
  license: public domain (federal)
• EU Safety Gate →
  european union safety gate (RAPEX)
  EU rapid alert system for dangerous non-food products. proactive, member states test imports as they arrive and alert each other. each row is an alert with the actual ppb measurement that triggered it. mostly electronics, toys, jewelry, and cosmetics. 2,131 records covering 62 countries of origin, 2005 to 2026.
  license: EU public sector information

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)

other categories

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