Hardly- Here's why
I tested several pepper products for lead over the weekend and what i found made sense.
There is little to no lead in most pepper products, This is because pepper isn't grown underground, the seeds are not a storage of energy for the plant and they aren't likely adulterated before we get them.
most of the pepper I tested was in its whole form, so that may have something to do with it as well, but check out the image below to get the scoop on what I found.
I used very pure acids and hydrogen peroxide to break down the pepper, I also tested them twice and even did a spike on the samples to make sure there was nothing blocking the signal.
this kind of analysis was more complicated than i expected but it really is a powerful tool and satisfying when it goes correctly.
not everything has lead, and being fearful or having a negative attitude about all the food certainly isn't healthy.
most lead exposure doesn't come from food anyway- it comes from our homes.
If you house was built before 1978 it may have lead based paint
if built before 1988 it may have a lead water service line
any home could have lead in its dishes, toys, or older items left around (power cords, rubber components, brass objects, etc)
Finally consider your soil, if you have open patches of dirt outside and your area is near a place where a lot of cars were driven during the 1900's you may have significant lead in the soil.
this goes doubly for places which are close to industrial zones, lead contamination in soil is a big deal.
You can test for all these things using the kits I designed, Fluoro-Spec for the paint, pipes and dishes, while another test kit designed especially for soil can inform you on what you might need to do based on the level of contamination in your yard.
I made it so it tests down to 200 ppm, half the EPA limit for children s play areas.
let me know if you have any questions about this stuff!
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