Trader Joe’s Super Green Powder
Source: Trader Joe’s
Cost: $20
Serving Size: 1 scoop (10 grams)
Cost per 10 gram scoop: $.66
Justin’s POV:
I have been taking this powder for many many years! I really like the the balance of ingredients, cost, and taste. However just recently I noticed that they have added a warning to the label that says that the powder might contain LEAD, as you can see in the above photo. I have only just started digging into this, but obviously ingesting lead is a cause for concern. But, just how much concern depends on how much lead, if any, is in the powder. After a quick google, I came upon a lawsuit (see one scanned PDF here, and another slightly different digital version here) between Environmental Research Center Inc, and Trader Joe’s which I assume is the reason why Trader Joe’s added the prop 65 warning to the label recently. I have contacted Environmental Research Center in hopes of finding out if they actually did an independent test on the products, and if so, what their finding were, or if they just assumed there could be lead in there because of the ingredient listing, and filed the lawsuit to err on the side of public caution, or a legal fee payout. I for one, would now like to see independent lab test of these powders since I take 10 grams a day of the green, and 10 grams a day of the red.
Updates:
The law firm that sued Trader Joe’s got back but basically said the specifics of the lawsuit are sealed. So it seems that they are not going to publish any lab tests about what the lead levels were in the products that they tested, if indeed those tests were even done.
Ongoing research:
Regarding how much “lead” can be in a product before it necessitates a prop 65 warning label:
“The Prop 65 Safe Harbor maximum allowable dose level for lead is 0.5 micrograms per day, but the FDA daily limits are set at 75 micrograms for adults and 6 micrograms for children.”
So if the warning label reflects the truth about how much lead is in the products, and I am taking 2 scoops a day, I am theoretically exposing myself to at least 1 microgram of lead from ingesting these products….
Does Proposition 65 contain any exemptions?
Yes. The following are exempt:
Governmental agencies and public water utilities: All federal, state and local government agencies, as well as entities operating public water systems, are exempt.”
https://oag.ca.gov/prop65/faqs-view-all
http://www.anh-usa.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Prop-65-manual.pdf