Consumer Reports warns of lead in popular gluten substitute. Cassava Flour, Chips, Bread, and More (May 2025) Article

[Michael Harrop]

https://www.oregonlive.com/retail/2025/05/consumer-reports-warns-of-lead-in-popular-gluten-substitute.html
https://www.consumerreports.org/health/food-contaminants/cassava-flour-chips-bread-more-contain-high-levels-of-lead-a7817220954/

Lead is a neurotoxin. There is no safe level of lead for people to ingest, and the risks are greatest during childhood and pregnancy, since lead can damage the brain and nervous system in young children and developing fetuses. In adults, frequent lead exposure has been linked to immune system suppression, reproductive issues, kidney damage, and hypertension.

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recently, it’s gained a reputation as a health food, touted for its grain-free and gut-health properties. As a result, cassava flour is being used more and more in a variety of foods, such as bread, pasta, chips, and cookies.

Consumer Reports’ latest tests of 27 products found that for over two-thirds of them, a single serving exceeded the level of lead Consumer Reports’ food safety experts use as a threshold for an acceptable daily intake—some by more than 2,000 percent

"we’ve never seen lead levels as high as those we found in some of these cassava foods,” says James E. Rogers, PhD, director of product and food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports.

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Petition:
Get toxic lead out of cassava products https://action.consumerreports.org/nb-20250507-cassavalead

Tell Bob’s Red Mill, Otto’s Naturals, Quay Naturals, and Jovial to improve the safety of their sourcing and processing to bring down lead levels in their cassava products.

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