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Supplements & Heavy Metals

Saturday, 4th January 2025

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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Do Vitaklenz products contain unsafe levels of heavy metals?

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​No.

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Why has this issue arisen?

 

On December 25, 2024 an influencer website based in the USA posted a detailed statement that Vitaklenz for Kidz had returned positive results for lead and arsenic. This website continued with inflammatory and sensationalist language to describe Vitaklenz for Kidz as potentially dangerous, made a recommendation to stop giving it immediately to children, and to rely on food-based interventions instead until the 'supplement industry is cleaned up'.

 

This commercial website earns money from their endorsed “safe” products through an affiliate program, and encourages their readers to switch away from products they target over to approved alternatives.

 

What were the levels of lead and arsenic purportedly detected?

 

Lead was allegedy detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz was a concentration of 23ppb, and arsenic was allegedly detected at 39ppb (parts per billion). Comparisons were made of these levels for “context” to action levels recommended in a proposed bill introduced in 2021 that has stalled in the US government. These “action level” amounts only apply to baby food, and are considered unrealistic by many industry and scientific experts.

 

Did this website include opinions on the above test results?

 

Yes. This webpage included a lengthy discussion, mostly copied and pasted from other pages on their website, on the issue of lead in products with personal opinions shared that have little to no basis in scientific evidence. By implication the manufacturers of Vitaklenz for Kidz were accused of misinterpreting ‘guidance levels on heavy metals to mean “allowable levels”’, and ‘that this is a (perhaps intentional?) misunderstanding/misinterpretation the food industry makes – a misunderstanding that food manufacturers use to justify the presence of heavy metals in products.’

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An immediate risk to safety of children consuming Vitaklenz for Kidz was raised by describing the marketing of this product as supporting healthy digestion in children as ‘tragically ironic’.

 

Response by Genesis Health Products Pty Ltd (Sponsor of Vitaklenz For Kidz).

 

This commercial website completely misrepresented Vitaklenz for Kidz as being unsafe.  The following discussion is made, without prejudice, in response to the above serious allegations.

 

Does Genesis Health Products take heavy metal contamination seriously?

 

Yes.

 

Every batch of Vitaklenz and Vitaklenz for Kidz is tested for heavy metal contamination according to international standards for pharmaceutical medicines (a requirement for herbal listed medicines in Australia).

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Why are we so careful?

 

The four most common elemental impurities (heavy metals) of concern to science in respect to human health are arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb) and mercury (Hg). There is an excellent reason:

 

‘Chronic oral exposures to the heavy metals highlighted by these studies (As, Cd, Hg and Pb) are associated with cancer and adverse non-cancer health effects. Both As and Pb are designated as known human carcinogens when ingested. Oral exposure to As, Cd, Hg and Pb have also been shown to induce non-cancer systemic and target organ toxicity, including neurological, reproductive, developmental, cardiovascular, hematological, gastrointestinal, renal, musculoskeletal, and dermal adverse health effect, depending on the element.’ 1

 

While the risk remains important for adults, a heightened threat of these substances applies to children:

 

‘The difference between children and adult sensitivities to lead is substantial, with cognitive effects in children being the main reason for the lack of a safe threshold value.’ 2

 

This is why the international community has standards to ensure the safety of food, supplements and drugs for consumption, particularly by children. In Australia, the manufacture of listed medicines such as Vitaklenz for Kidz is regulated, testing for heavy metals to a pharmaceutical standard is mandatory, and the process is closely monitored by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA).

 

The manufacture of listed medicines in Australia (known as food or health supplements in some countries) is regarded as world’s best practice.

 

Context on the levels of heavy metals allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz.

 

Representing a claimed level of 23 parts per billion of lead and 39 parts per billion of arsenic as dangerous in any product of this nature is completely absurd.

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There is not a location anywhere on the planet that does not contain naturally occurring background levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in soil and water.

 

‘Lead is the most common heavy metal contaminant of soil. Natural background levels range from .1 to 40 ppm (parts per million), depending on the parent material of the soil.’ 3

 

Unfortunately, human activity further increases the levels of these elements.

 

‘Pollution is the more common reason that soils are higher in lead than would be predicted.’ 3

 

What is in soil and water also gets into food. Numerous peer-reviewed studies have shown over many decades that fresh fruit and vegetable supplies from all over the world contain background levels of heavy metals in excess of the levels allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz.

 

For example, a 2018 study of fresh vegetables from four supermarkets in Florida found the mean (average) concentrations of lead in organic vegetables as 44.8 ppb and 46.3 ppb in conventional (i.e. not organic) produce. 4 Despite these levels of lead (almost double that allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz), the following balance was noted:

 

‘Metal concentrations in all vegetables were low and within the maximum allowable limits established by FAO/WHO … According to this study, based on both chronic daily intake and hazard quotient, the risk of metal exposure through consumption of the 5 most-consumed vegetables was probably of limited concern’ 4

 

This is not a phenomenon just limited to the United States. A 2014 study of both locally grown and imported rice and vegetables on sale in Australia detected levels of heavy metals, (including lead) in food on sale in supermarkets.

 

‘Except radish leaf, the mean Pb concentration in Australian grown vegetables was 115 mcg kg-1 … which is slightly higher than the standard Australian maximum limit (100 mcg kg-1).’ 5

 

This is 5 times the level as allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz.

 

Rice is particularly susceptible to heavy metal contamination due to the way it is grown submerged in paddy fields.

 

‘These flooded fields provide a cool, fertile environment for a healthy crop but that same environment also allows contamination from toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.’ 6

 

Why is this particularly alarming?

 

‘Rice cereal is a staple in many American babies’ diets, and is often the first solid food an infant eats.’ 6

 

Lead concentration in Australian-grown rice was detected at a mean concentration of 115 mcg kg-1, with the highest concentration found in organic brown rice at a mean concentration of 958 mcg kg-1. This is over 40 times the levels allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz. 5

 

European-grown produce fairs no better. Despite rigorous and enforceable limits of heavy metal content in food in the EU, a 2021 study laid out the reality of the world we live in (and the food we eat) from an analysis of fruit and vegetables grown in Poland. Apples, cranberries, grapes, pears, raspberries and strawberries all returned positive tests for cadmium and lead, with mean lead concentrations of 9, 4, 5, 8, 12 and 9 parts per billion respectively in the above fresh fruit samples. Vegetable samples included beetroot, carrot, celery and tomato, and returned mean concentrations of 95, 27, 31 and 16 parts per billion of lead respectively. 7

 

How does the lead concentration of fresh fruit and (particularly) vegetables compare with the alleged detection levels in Vitaklenz for Kidz? Presumably if consumers should avoid consuming Vitaklenz for Kidz for alleged concentrations of 23 ppb of lead and 39 ppb of arsenic then they should certainly give up eating fruit and vegetables also, particularly when one realises that the maximum dosage for this Australian TGA-listed medicine is just 2 tablets per day for a child between 2 and 4 years of age. This is an infinitesimal dosage in comparison to the amount of fresh fruit and vegetables children would be consuming in a healthy diet at the same time.

 

What alternatives are there to eating fruit and vegetables? A completely carnivore diet? Would that shield us from heavy metal contamination? The metals that we ingest from our food get taken up by livestock as well. There is no escape.

 

The reality is, we cannot remove heavy metals from our world. The only way to completely stay away from heavy metals is the same 3-step approach we have discussed elsewhere 8 for keeping completely clear of parasitic infection:

 

  1. Stop eating

  2. Stop drinking

  3. Wrap yourself in plastic (although this one may not in actuality protect from heavy metals anyway)

 

We agree with the principle behind the claim of this website that ‘there is no safe level of lead exposure for human beings. Period.’

 

But we also acknowledge that there is no safe way to avoid food and water. What is going to make you sick quicker? Miniscule background presence of arsenic and lead, or malnutrition?

 

Nitrogen Dioxide. To illustrate: neither is there any safe level of exposure to nitrogen dioxide, particularly for children. But we don’t consider stopping breathing air or living in cities amongst exhaust fumes to protect ourselves from it. Our bodies deal with it while we are alive, and we can choose to use supplements or (if living in Australia) TGA-listed medicines along with adequate nutrition to help our bodies cope. In the meantime, legislators work with the best science available to set safe limit exposures and monitor to see that the threat to public health is minimised. 9

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Breastmilk. Nothing underscores the ubiquitous nature of heavy metals than the numerous studies that have detected arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in breastmilk.

 

‘During lactation, lead is mobilised from bone lead stores and partly excreted through human breast milk.’ 10

 

Detections of lead in breastmilk vary wildly though numerous studies and across different geographic locations, varying from 0.0010 to 0.1000 mg/L. That range translates from 1 through to 100 ppb, with mean (average) concentrations reported in Sweden of 2 ppb, Germany 9.1 ppb and Austria 16 ppb. 10

 

Worryingly, arsenic and lead have shown a greater presence in colostrum before decreasing considerably in intermediate and mature milk, effectively exposing the most vulnerable new-born infants to a higher load of heavy metal toxicity. 11

 

Much can be learned from these studies on lowering exposure to nursing mothers from dietary and environmental exposure to heavy metals, but no one would suggest cessation of breastfeeding babies due to the presence of some heavy metals in levels above “action levels” proposed by some US legislators.

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Should we be applying higher standards to “supplements” than food?

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​We can try to do anything, but reality of the world we live in always catches up with us.

 

Vitaklenz for Kidz is a blend of herbs drawn from healing traditions from North & South America, India, China and Europe. These are herbs grown in the same soil as our food, and in some cases are actually consumed themselves as food (e.g. pumpkin seeds, thyme and cloves).

 

If there are any metals in Vitaklenz products, they would be there because of the natural presence of these elements already in the soil in which the plants naturally grow. Even if these tests are accurate, the fact that the levels of arsenic and lead allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz are so incredibly low is an indicator of the exacting standards applied to the manufacture of these TGA-listed medicines despite the lack of tampering with the natural ingredients.

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Vitaklenz products are manufactured under Australian law to strict international pharmaceutical standards.

What about lead concentrations in pharmaceutical drugs?

 

Nothing illustrates the cost/benefit analysis in weighing up the pros and cons of consuming lead-positive products than that of pharmaceutical drugs. In 2007 a ground-breaking study was published analysing the lead content of 45 popular common medicines. These included commonly prescribed drugs, nonprescription products, generic & brand name choices, and dietary supplements, but excluded vaccines. High volume products used to treat chronic conditions were prioritised, and those aimed at children’s health were included.

 

‘The lead concentrations of the products examined in this survey ranged from 0 to 500 ppb, with an average of 48 ppb across all products.’ 12  

  

Three over the counter (OTC) drugs for stomach discomfort relief scored between 129 and 144 ppb lead concentration. A popular OTC nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (brand name withheld) returned a concentration of 336 ppb.

 

Despite these alarming results of lead content (far in excess of that which was allegedly found in Vitaklenz for Kidz) the paper concluded:

 

‘The overall level of lead contamination in these products is low …. The results of this study indicate that current good manufacturing practices are adequate to minimize the risk of lead contamination in most pharmaceutical products and dietary supplements.” 12

 

Of course, Vitaklenz for Kidz is manufactured under pharmaceutical standards for heavy metal contamination as regulated in Australia, far more stringent than typical GMP practices referred to as adequately protective in the above paper as used in the United States and some other countries.

 

We note upon reviewing this influencer's website that there appears to be no analysis made of pharmaceutical drugs despite the increased risk posed by ongoing use of these products for managing chronic conditions, including in children. OTC drugs are just as accessible to self-appointed consumer advocates as their natural health cousins, particularly in the United States, and can just as easily be sent off for analysis as any other selection.

 

This is a surprising omission from the scope of the consumer protection philosophy communicated throughout this website, "Our focus is (as always) on the health of children." The legally fraught and financially risky process of taking on well-resourced multinational corporations is well understood by us, though.

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Is it possible to completely remove heavy metals from consumed products?

 

There is good reason to make every effort to expunge these heavy metals from the food chain as far as possible. Any conscientious manufacturer, consolidator or sponsor of food or medicines would see this as a worthwhile goal as we do.

 

Is it realistic to expect that anyone can completely eliminate these elements though? The influencer authoring this website repeatedly says yes:

 

‘While the packaged, processed food industry would have consumers (and the government) believe the standards proposed in 2021 [see below] are unachievable, this industry position (an oft-rearticulated response to nearly every set of laboratory test results for food and supplements that we have published to date) is simply not true.’

 

At best, this statement is misleading. It appears to be based on the assumption that “action levels” proposed in a bill to amend the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act to limit the presence of toxic elements in infant and toddler food to the US Senate in 2021 are a gold standard that everyone will adopt as safety standards. This website admits in some places that these are not safety standards, but then presents information (as quoted above) to suggest the opposite.

 

It is noteworthy that the above referenced bill has stalled within the US government. The easiest thing to claim is that there is some conspiracy from the “lead industry” (is there even such a thing?) to pay off the legislators and keep their dirty work afloat.

 

The reality is very different, though. The professionals that actually do the research understand the naivety of these proposed low levels due to the background presence of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury everywhere in the natural world.

 

‘Unfortunately complete elimination of elements such as Cd and Pb from these products [fruits and vegetables] is impossible, and the technological processes used in food production can only remove a small part of the impurities from selected products, or even contribute to their increased contamination.’ 7

 

That very last comment in the above cited paper is a telling one. Human interference in nature rarely (if ever) makes things better. Some things tried so far include adding extra sulphur to paddy soils, intercropping rice paddies with water spinach and water celery to mop up contaminants, and experimenting with microorganisms (including genetically engineered varieties) & nanotechnologies in soil mitigation. 6

 

More genetic engineering and nanotechnologies in crop management! Is that what you want in your food chain? That is the end-result of an obsession with arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury contamination in consumable goods at ridiculously low levels.

 

No matter what our views are on this matter, science is nowhere near to making these theories work in practice and on a large scale. There may even be downsides to such an overreach:

 

‘One challenge in tinkering with soil chemistry and plant genetics is blocking arsenic can affect the way a plant takes up other nutrients. “There is a balance between this, a tradeoff between the required nutrients and these other toxic elements,’ Parkash [Professor of crop biotechnology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst] said. “It’s a very complex system.”’ 6

 

Yes, fiddling with the natural balance of nature has a way of coming back to bite us, no matter how well-intentioned we might be.

 

Nevertheless, lead, arsenic and mercury (less so cadmium) are all household names, and raising them in the context of a potential contamination is sure to elicit an emotional response, particularly amongst worried parents. This is particularly so when a message is broadcast out to consumers that may have little background knowledge of the issue at hand, and poor understanding of what the alleged detected figures actually mean in a true context of the world around us.

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How reliable were the testing methods used?

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The protocols used in evaluating the levels of heavy metals in Vitaklenz for Kidz did not follow normal scientific methods and call into question the competency of the people involved in the process as well as the accuracy of the test results. In what ways?

 

  1. Once a product is shipped to a private address it is no longer in the GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) system. This exposes a product to tampering with no scientific control or certification (paper trail) to rule out contamination, either unintentional or deliberate. Was the bottle opened while at the private address? If so, was this done in a sterile environment, or is there a possibility of cross-contamination. If opened, was it done by someone with sufficient experience and adequate knowledge in how to handle and repackage clinical samples for dispatch?

  2. Only one bottle of Vitaklenz for Kidz was acquired for this test. Clinical testing requires numerous bottles to ensure accuracy, some to use as controls and others for cross-referencing to discount artifacts (errors) in the testing process. Was the claimed detection an anomaly? We have no way of telling.

  3. The lab report was issued without referencing the batch number of the product. This vital piece of data is essential for manufacturers to confirm reports and track sales for recalls if considered necessary (i.e. if there actually are dangerous levels of contaminants detected). This omission has us completely baffled as a batch number is the first thing a GMP-accredited testing facility should note on their documentation, and renders the report as useless for any practical purposes.

  4. A bottle of Vitaklenz for Kidz was ordered from Genesis’ US office on December 10. Tracking confirms it was delivered on December 13. The lab report records it arriving at their facility on December 16, and the report is dated on December 19. There was clearly no intent to use the product, and it is only reasonable to believe that the product was ordered with the sole intent of looking for trouble so as to support an influencer website that has a commercial interest in finding contaminants in products to exist.

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This influencer website stated that, ‘there are currently no health-protective mandated “total content limits” for toxicants (as measured in ppb) for products in this product category'. Is this true?

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Yes and no.

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There actually are 'health-protective mandated total content limits for toxicants ... for products in this product category'. This part of the above allegation quoted from the influencer website is untrue.

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As stated, Vitaklenz for Kidz is manufactured in Australia as a TGA-listed medicine, and as such has to abide by international pharmaceutical standards for heavy metals and microorganism contamination. These are health protective, mandated standards for total content of heavy metals in this product category (i.e. TGA-listed medicines). Just because these safety standards are not applied to dietary supplements manufactured in the United States does not mean they are not demanded elsewhere from manufacturers in this product category in more regulated jurisdictions.

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What the influencer did get right in the above allegation is that these standards are not measured in ppb (parts per billion). In fact, we are not aware of any legislated standards anywhere in the world that are or even can be. Instead all safety standards for heavy metal contamination are expressed in ppm (parts per million). 

 

Why?

 

Testing reliably for such minute amounts (ppb) with accuracy is difficult, and these tiny concentrations defy the background levels of heavy metals everywhere in nature. As a result, if safety standards for food, supplements and drugs were set in the suggested levels of ppb (parts per billion), a huge amount of the world’s critical food supplies would fail:

 

‘While a 100-ppb limit could lead anywhere from a 4% to 93% loss of rice in the food supply, the FDA calculated that a 75-ppb limit could lead to a 14% to 99% loss.’ 6

 

Australian legislation requires all products listed on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods to be tested to the standards as required by either chapter <2232> Elemental contaminants in Dietary Supplements of the United States Pharmacopeia-National Formulary, or the European standards as recorded in the International Council for Harmonisation of the Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use’s ICH Q3D Guideline 2022.

 

These standards are identical, and stipulate strict limits of pharmaceutical products in oral concentration of 0.5 parts per million (=500 ppb or parts per billion) for cadmium and lead, 1.5 parts per million (=1,500 ppb) for arsenic and 3.0 parts per million (=3,000 ppb) for mercury. Every batch of Vitaklenz for Kidz ever manufactured has been compulsorily tested under Australian law against these standards and has passed before being released onto the market. We do not supply dangerous products, either to adults or to children. Any suggestion that we do is against every principle that we hold close to our hears and is offensive, and impossible under Australian law anyway.

 

We are presently in the process of cross-checking whether the levels of lead and arsenic allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz are accurate, but are hampered by the timing of this attack on our business and reputation (both factories are closed during Christmas to New Year period) as well as the lack of a batch number being recorded on the lab report.

 

Even if the claimed levels of 23 parts per billion (lead) and 39 parts per billion (arsenic) are accurate, they themselves show the high level of quality standards we apply, both in selecting quality raw materials to go into our products and the way the materials are processed in manufacture. These alleged levels are excessively low (4.6% of the drug safety level for lead and 2.6 % of the drug safety level for arsenic). And this is for a product that is used sparingly and for limited periods to restore balance to certain aspects of digestive (and other) health in children.​​

The alleged levels of lead and arsenic detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz were commensurate with background levels in food and less than 1/20th of the safety standard as set for pharmacuetical drugs.

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Why was Vitaklenz for Kidz targeted?

 

It is impossible to judge anyone’s motives, and the best we can determine is that this article was based on multiple misunderstandings.

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  1. How Vitaklenz for Kidz is used. This product is designed to be taken via a limited dosage for a short time period. It is not a “food supplement” in the context of nutritional enhancement and is not designed for ongoing use. This is clearly identified on the label. Perhaps the label wasn’t carefully read?

  2. Where Vitaklenz for Kidz is made. US-based websites criticising the dietary supplement industry often ignorantly believe that lax standards in the US means lax standards everywhere. This is not true. Vitaklenz and Vitaklenz for Kidz meet pharmaceutical standards for contamination by elemental impurities (heavy metals) as required under Australian law.

  3. Parts per million seems to be regularly confused with parts per billion on this webpage, for example: "supplements with ANY purported health benefits should not test positive for heavy metals in ANY amount – especially in amounts measurable in parts per billion!” Indeed, you cannot test for any smaller amount that parts per billion. Fresh fruit and vegetables regularly test positive for heavy metals in parts per billion as well. Is this a typo?

  4. Confusion of where products like Vitaklenz for Kidz are sourced from. The influencer recommends food-based interventions as a healthy alternative. Vitaklenz for Kidz may be made to a pharmaceutical standard, but it is not synthetic (i.e. a drug). All of the herbs are grown in the same soil as food. And as already established, the levels of metals allegedly detected in this product are lower than common, fresh, even organic foods. Switching to a "food-based" alternative (if one exists) would expose consumers (including children) to food that is not regulated to the extent that Vitaklenz for Kidz is with respect to heavy metal contamination. Is this a lack of awareness of the presence of lead, etc in fresh food supply? This would be surprising for a website that uses the presence of lead in products as a focus in its marketing.

  5. ‘All of the test results on this website are science-based, accurate and replicable.’ Any lab report issued for any reason could be said to be “science-based”, but we have previously noted anomalies in the process of testing that raises concerns about the competence of some personnel in the chain of events. Also, how can a test result be “replicable” when only one sample bottle was purchased for testing? This statement is misleading, possibly because it appears to have been copied and pasted from other pages on this website.

  6. Claims that ‘this is an ad free article’. There are repeated appeals for readers to participate in this business’ affiliate marketing program and purchase approved “non-detect” products and support the business in their “childhood lead poisoning prevention” work. Regardless of the noble claims, this is not an ad-free article and there is a commercial agenda also present.

  7. Action levels from the stalled Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 are used against the alleged detection levels of Vitaklenz for Kidz to ‘lend context to the levels of toxicants found in this particular product’. These in reality do not provide “context” but rather are used to inflate the significance of the miniscule levels supposedly found in the product and add weight to the urgency of the irrelevant message of the article.

  8. ‘The 2021 levels were proposed as “Action Levels” because they are (in fact) protective of human health.’ Again, this is misleading. Safety standards that are protective of human health already exist at very different levels to these proposed action levels. These were proposed for the benefit of infant health, not human health as a whole. Is this another absent-minded typo? We do not suggest an attempt to mislead the reader.

  9. Suggestions that food manufacturers misinterpret safety guidelines as being allowable levels and raising the possibility that this might be ‘a (perhaps intentional?) misunderstanding/misinterpretation’ so that we can continue to ‘justify the presence of heavy metals’ in our products is extremely unfortunate wording to say the least. We thank the author for the including a question mark in the allegation, but the suggestion of malfeasance is clear. The writer of this clause is the one who misunderstands the situation: the standards we manufacture to are legal requirements and any insinuation that a company that is legally compliant in a matter of public health is being deliberately or otherwise dishonest and potentially placing lives at risk is, in our opinion, unscrupulous, undoubtedly damaging and potentially malicious.

  10. False statement: ‘Once a food product has the amount of heavy metal (Lead, Cadmium, Mercury, or Arsenic) noted (above) as the “Action Level”, that product is officially considered (by the scientific and medical community) unsafe for consumption by children as toxicants (found at-or-above these levels) are in the range of heavy metals that have already demonstrated to cause lasting harm.’ This is completely untrue.

    1. The international scientific and medical communities have already established Permitted Concentrations of Elemental Impurities (heavy metals) in pharmaceuticals 13 and maximum levels for certain contaminants in food 14, levels of which are much higher than the action levels continually referred to by the influencer. The FDA is keeping an eye on these international standards for a reason: ‘Reducing levels of contaminants in foods is complicated and multifaceted. It is crucial to ensure that measures taken to limit arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in foods do not have unintended consequences – like eliminating from the marketplace foods that have significant nutritional benefits or reducing the presence of one element while increasing another.’ 15

    2. The scientific and medical communities do not "officially" consider anything based on these proposed 2021 action levels. They have not been signed into law, and may never be, and so do not constitute an “official” anything. Holding up proposed legislation as legally binding is misleading. Perhaps the influencer misunderstands the difference between a “proposal” and actual legislation. Regardless of why the statement was made, it is misleading.

  11. The claim that ‘these Action Levels still reflect the current (modern/relevant) advise of the medical and scientific communities at levels both achievable by the industry and safeguards of infant and toddler health” again is wrong. While it looks good politically for governments to be seen as cracking down on greedy corporations to protect the safety of babies, there is evidence from the scientific community that acknowledges the action levels proposed in the stalled Baby Food Safety Act 2021 are unrealistic and may not be achievable due to the ubiquitous presence of lead and other heavy metals in our fresh food chain as supplied by nature. 3 6 7 13 14 15 It is thus science and scientists working in real-world scenarios that acknowledge the reality of the situation, and not ‘food and supplement industry lobbyists’ or ‘the packaged, processed food industry’ claiming that what legislators are proposing likely cannot be achieved.

    • 'Heavy metals are naturally occurring in the earth’s crust. They are listed on the periodic table of elements, just as are oxygen and hydrogen, so achieving non-detection for heavy metals with low-level analytical chemistry testing is not always feasible, especially when preserving nutritional density.’ 16

  12. False Statement: ‘Any available proposed safety thresholds (and guidance) for foods and supplements consumed by adults are not currently set at levels that are protective of human health – given practical / actual consumption patterns of foods (vs. manufacturer defined serving sizes.’ The influencer should be very careful about making blanket statements apparently based on personal observations and past experiences with the US food and supplement industry and applying them to ‘any’ scenario. International standards on the presence of metals in food, supplements and drugs are comprehensive and have a credible rationale based on decades of research, which Australian manufacturers of TGA-listed medicines are required to adhere to. 13 14 17 It might also be noted here that the author doesn’t follow their own advice due to an apparent lack of awareness of the recommended consumption of Vitaklenz for Kidz as stipulated on the label. Perhaps there was too little time to analyse the label (before it was sent off to the lab) and realise that it is only intended for a restricted dose over a limited period to achieve desired results.

  13. Inconsistencies exist on this website. On a page discussing salt the influencer claims that brands containing 50 ppb of lead are ‘ACCEPTABLE – BEST CHOICES’, with a brand testing at 25 ppb or below as the brand chosen for their own family. Other salts in the 50 to 100 ppb range are noted as ‘ACCEPTABLE – ALTERNATE CHOICES’, those in the 100 to 200 ppb range are labelled ‘MODERATELY UNSAFE’, with categories above 200 ppb determined as ‘UNSAFE’. It is stated that ‘Salt should be below 100 ppb Lead to be considered safe for regular daily consumption and I personally would not use salt with my family is tested positive for Lead at 50 ppb and above.’ There is no explanation as to why a laxer level of safety is allowed with salt in comparison to other products, and this doesn’t make sense in the context of repeated claims on this website that ‘There is no safe level of Lead exposure for human beings. Period.’ To offer context in the light of our own product, lead was allegedly detected in Vitaklenz for Kidz at less than half the potential concentration of salt brands recommended as safe by the author. The European Food Safety Authority considers 2.8 grams of salt a safe and adequate daily intake for children of 1-3 years of age. 18 19 The maximum dosage of Vitaklenz for Kidz for a 2 year old is 1.65312 grams per day for a 30 day period. The author is thus appearing to recommend a potential ongoing daily lead intake (through “acceptable" brands of salt) of up to 0.14 mcg of lead, but vigorously claiming that Vitaklenz for Kidz is unsafe at an alleged maximum level of 0.03795 mcg of lead per day over a limited 30-day course (i.e. less than a quarter daily intake of the endorsed salt brand). This is plainly inconsistent, and communicates confusing double standards out to their readership. We do acknowledge that this website's page on salt has not been updated since 22 October 2020. Perhaps the influencer's opinions have changed since? The recommendations on this page certainly have not.

  14. ‘Thou shalt not use Lead in anything.’ As impressive as this proverb sounds, it is not one of the Ten Commandments despite the employment of archaic English to imply authority. Nevertheless, we agree with the author. That is why our product complies with Australian and international safety standards for heavy metals and, if the influencer's detected levels in our product are accurate, the concentrations of arsenic and lead are lower than many pharmaceutical drugs and commensurate with fresh food, including organic vegetables.

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What to make of all of this

 

It is very distressing for us, a family-based business with products that we cannot publish claims on, to have to deal with these baseless and reckless allegations. Vitaklenz and Vitaklenz for Kidz have established themselves over the last two decades as an integral part of thousands of families’ health regimes through word-of-mouth recommendation because they work and are safe. The driving force behind the growth of these products are recommendations by practitioners who have the background knowledge and experience to know what products can be trusted and why.

 

We understand that consumer advocate websites keeping large, ignorant or poorly-regulated manufacturers honest have an important role to play. Nevertheless, sometimes a healthy drive becomes an obsession, and we have seen many times over the years how one important issue can build into an influencer’s mind as the only big problem facing all of humankind. Then the helpful activity sometimes can become reckless.

 

This is where we need balance to accept there are many problems facing the health of people worldwide, including our children. Heavy metals, DDT in soil, dieldrin, lindane, hexchlorbenzene, cyclodiene, PCBs & PBBs, and a host of other man-made chemicals all pose a critical threat to children’s health 20, as does malnutrition, pharmaceutical company corruption and infectious disease. Yes, let’s all vigorously remove these threats as much as is possible, but should that include blandly attacking protective and safe products for the simple reason that they are naturally drawn from an imperfect planet?

 

Removing lead contamination?

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The real “tragic irony” in all of this lies in what Vitaklenz for Kidz actually does. While we are hamstrung by an inability to publish claims on our product, we can report that we work closely with hundreds of practitioners across Australia, the United States and other countries that employ Vitaklenz for Kidz as a part of their own protocols to reduce heavy metal toxin levels in children, including lead. * (See below case study 5 year old child prior to and following treatment which included use of Vitaklenz for Kidz as part of practitioner protocols.)

 

Parasites trap and at times hide lead and other heavy metals within the system, hampering the efforts of all other treatments to remove it. This is poorly understood by conventional medicine, and perhaps why the doctor quoted in the influencer’s website stated that: ‘Most of the Lead that has gone into your body is still there!’. It doesn't have to be. Truly, a little bit of knowledge can be dangerous.

 

Eliminating parasites can unlock the impediment to reducing heavy metal contamination. Any reader is welcome to contact us personally and we will outline how this can be safely and effectively achieved.

 

We also warmly welcome the influencer that has misrepresented Vitaklenz for Kidz on their website to get in touch with us and we will gladly share how this process can be accomplished, both for their own personal family (who are identified as lead-poisoned) and their community as a whole.

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References:

  1. Parker GH, Gillie CE, Miller JV, Badger DE, Kreider ML. Human health risk assessment of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury ingestion from baby foods. Toxicol Rep. 2022 Feb 4;9:238-249. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2022.02.001. PMID: 35198407; PMCID: PMC8850323.

  2. Wong C, Roberts SM, Saab IN. Review of regulatory reference values and background levels for heavy metals in the human diet. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2022 Apr;130:105122. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2022.105122. Epub 2022 Jan 26. PMID: 35090957.

  3. Sideman E  Lead  Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners  https://www.mofga.org/resources/soil/lead  (Accessed 30 Dec 2024)

  4. Hadayat N, De Oliveira LM, Da Silva E, Han L, Hussain M, Liu X, Ma LQ. Assessment of trace metals in five most-consumed vegetables in the US: Conventional vs. organic. Environ Pollut. 2018 Dec;243(Pt A):292-300. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.08.065. Epub 2018 Aug 27. PMID: 30193223.

  5. Rahman MA, Rahman MM, Reichman SM, Lim RP, Naidu R. Heavy metals in Australian grown and imported rice and vegetables on sale in Australia: health hazard. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2014 Feb;100:53-60. doi: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2013.11.024. Epub 2013 Dec 20. PMID: 24433791.

  6. Wood C  The daunting task of cutting heavy metals from baby food  The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Science  https://www.asbmb.org/asbmb-today/science/062523/the-daunting-task-of-cutting-heavy-metals-from-bab  (25 June 2023)

  7. Rusin M, Domagalska J, Rogala D, Razzaghi M, Szymala I. Concentration of cadmium and lead in vegetables and fruits. Sci Rep. 2021 Jun 7;11(1):11913. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-91554-z. PMID: 34099845; PMCID: PMC8184968.

  8. Porter M  The Inside Story on Gut Health  Ocean Reeve Publishing  (2023)

  9. California Air Resources Board  Nitrogen Dioxide & Health  https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/resources/nitrogen-dioxide-and-health#:~:text=NO2%20contributes%20to%20formation,also%20form%20through%20photochemical%20reactions.  (Accessed 1 Jan 2025)

  10. EFSA Panel on Contaminants in the Food Chain (CONTAM); Scientific Opinion on Lead in Food. EFSA Journal 2010; 8(4):1570. [151 pp.]. doi:10.2903/j.efsa.2010.1570.

  11. Rebelo FM, Caldas ED. Arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium: Toxicity, levels in breast milk and the risks for breastfed infants. Environ Res. 2016 Nov;151:671-688. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.08.027. Epub 2016 Sep 10. PMID: 27619212.

  12. Kauffman JF, Westenberger BJ, Robertson JD, Guthrie J, Jacobs A, Cummins SK. Lead in pharmaceutical products and dietary supplements. Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 2007 Jul;48(2):128-34. doi: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2007.03.001. Epub 2007 Mar 27. PMID: 17467129.

  13. International Council for Harmonisation of the Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use  Guideline for Elemental Impurities ICH Q3D  https://database.ich.org/sites/default/files/Q3D-R2_Guideline_Step4_2022_0308.pdf  (26 April 2022)

  14. European Union  Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915 of 25 April 2023 on maximum levels for certain contaminants in food and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1881/2006  https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=celex%3A32023R0915  (Accessed 1 Jan 2025)

  15. US Food & Drug Administration  Closer to Zero: Reducing Childhood Exposure to Contaminants from Foods  https://www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/closer-zero-reducing-childhood-exposure-contaminants-foods  (12 March 2024)

  16. Bowen J  Chemicals of Concern: The Social and Regulatory Evolution of the Baby Food Category  FoodSafety Magazine  https://www.food-safety.com/articles/8797-chemicals-of-concern-the-social-and-regulatory-evolution-of-the-baby-food-category  (8 August 2023)

  17. Australian Government Department of Health Therapeutic Goods Administration  Guidance for TGO 101 Standard for tablets, capsules and pills Version 1.1  https://www.tga.gov.au/sites/default/files/guidance-tgo-101.pdf  (February 2020)

  18. European Food Safety Authority  Dietary reference values for sodium  https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5778  doi: 10.2903/j.efsa.2019.5778  (3 July 2019) 

  19. Healthline  Salt for Babies: How Much Is Safe? https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/salt-for-babies  (last reviewed 24 August 2021)

  20. Sonawane BR. Chemical contaminants in human milk: an overview. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 Sep;103 Suppl 6(Suppl 6):197-205. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103s6197. PMID: 8549474; PMCID: PMC1518901.

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* A practitioner has supplied the following before and after test results (with parental approval) of a 5 year old boy who tested high in levels of heavy metals prior to commencement of treatment (which included Vitaklenz for Kidz) with corresponding drops in levels of Al, Sb, Ag, As, Ba, Be, Bi, Cd, Ni, Pt, Pb, Tl and Th. The largest drop in concentrations was for Pb (lead). There was a slight rise in Hg and Gd following the treatment, with both before and after levels remaining within normal levels for these metals.

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5 year old subject with high lead levels pior to treatment.
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Test date Feb 02, 2024

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5 year old subject 4 months after treatment.

Test date Nov 14, 2024
After_72_600.jpg
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This page is for information only and is not meant to be used for self-diagnosis or as a substitute for consultation with a health care professional. No representation is made that any of the products referred to on this website treat or cure any diseases. If you have any questions about any of the health matters described above or think that you may have a parasitic infection, consult a health care professional.

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