Wellnesse Toothpaste Rebuttal
It has recently been brought to my attention that there is an article online, posted January 11th, 2025, claiming unsafe levels of lead in Wellnesse Toothpaste. I immediately investigated this claim and wanted to formulate a response for patients who have purchased this toothpaste from our office.
The article is titled: Wellnesse Children’s Fluoride-Free Toothpaste (in Strawberry Flavor) Tests Positive for Unsafe Levels of Lead, Cadmium, and Arsenic: Lab Report Here.
The article is written by Tamara Rubin who goes by the online name “Lead Safe Mama” . According to her website, she is an “advocate for childhood lead poisoning prevention and consumer goods safety, and a mother of lead-poisoned children”. While I am all for consumer safety and holding large companies accountable for their contaminated products, this recent article feels inflammatory, skews perception, and lacks context.
Up until recently, Tamara tested various food products for heavy metals and compared them to the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021. The bill establishes maximum levels of certain toxic elements (cadmium, lead, mercury, and inorganic arsenic) allowable in infant and toddler food, defined as “food intended to be sold for children up to 36 months old. ”
So right away, comparing toothpaste that you don’t eat, to criteria set up for baby food, that you feed an infant several times a day for years, seems a bit extreme. I am not giving Wellnesse a pass just because toothpaste isn’t food. However, it needs to be emphasized that holding any non-consumable product to the standards of food safety will never work.
The full bill can be read here: Text - H.R.2229 - 117th Congress (2021-2022): Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 | Congress.gov | Library of Congress
After speaking directly with the company, and using the information I already know, here are my thoughts: All products that contain ingredients that are originally derived from the earth, run the potential to contain trace amounts of heavy metals. This reminds me of a situation a few years back in which a particular toothpaste company had to place a warning label on their packaging for birth defects or other reproductive harm. When I investigated that, it was due to Proposition 65, which requires EVERYTHING in California that is produced from the ground to carry this label due to the “potential risk of trace heavy metal contamination”.
While this scenario is not related to Prop 65, it is a very similar concept. Wellnesse, just like many other toothpastes, have certain earth derived ingredients. When their manufacturers were asked what ingredients were possibly carrying the lead being discovered, their answer was “All earth minerals or materials contribute to heavy metals. In this case it's Calcium Carbonate and Silica. ” Look at literally any good quality toothpaste and you will find either calcium carbonate or hydroxyapatite (which is calcium and phosphate together). Silica, a very common toothpaste ingredient, is a compound made of silicon and oxygen. It is found abundantly in the Earth’s crust (soil, sand, granite, concrete, and so on). Again, anything derived from the earth is likely to bring with it trace amounts of undesirable metals.
Elements such as lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and antimony are naturally present in the environment and in addition to soil, can be found in trace amounts in air and water. Industries have also historically dumped heavy metals into the environment, leaving lasting contamination in the soil, water, and air. Establishing that there are no acceptable safe levels one would want to have of these metals in their body, it needs to be emphasized that they ubiquitously exist in low concentrations, making them impossible to avoid completely.
Wellnesse runs their own quality control tests for these elements along with multiple other harmful substances like microbes and PFAS. Their company goes above and beyond, making sure they not only meet FDA’s requirements, but the stricter EU standards as well.
Here are the laboratory findings for the Wellnesse Strawberry toothpaste from Wellnesse Testing:
Here are the claimed findings for the Wellnesse Strawberry toothpaste from The Lead Safe Mama:
Wellnesse reported their findings in parts per million and Lead Safe Mama reported hers in parts per billion, making the numbers seem higher than they are. If we convert both to parts per million, they yield identical results:
So...
These numbers are identical. Tamara did not find anything new with her independent testing that the Wellnesse company was not already testing and reporting. This defamation article comes down to using childhood food safety standards vs the heavy metal FDA or European criteria. Since Wellnesse is indeed a toothpaste, it makes sense to judge it via appropriate criteria. Wellnesse not only meets but exceeds heavy metal safety standards.