Perelel was created by doctors and moms who were frustrated by the lack of transparency and trust in the supplement industry. We know you’re here because you care deeply about what you put into your body—especially when you’re planning and growing a family. We’re addressing one such topic here: heavy metals in prenatal vitamins and other supplements. Let’s dive into the facts, so you can feel confident, informed, and supported in your choices.
Heavy Metals Are Naturally Occurring
Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic are elements found in the Earth’s crust.1 Because of this, they’re present in soil, where fruits, vegetables, grains, and plants grow. This means they are naturally in the food we eat every day—from carrots to quinoa. Even products labeled as organic or natural are not exempt from trace amounts of these elements, because they’re an inherent part of our environment.2
The FDA actually has a program that monitors levels of nutrients (like naturally occurring vitamins and minerals) as well as contaminants (like heavy metals) in foods eaten by people in the United States. You can see in the results that foods like spinach, rice, potatoes, cheese, even ice cream have various amounts of heavy metals. Fish are known to contain heavy metals too, which is why we source our Omega DHA + EPA oil from smaller fish (like anchovies) because they have lower metal levels compared to larger fish species like tuna or salmon.
These trace elements are unavoidable in plant-based ingredients and mineral-sourced vitamins, (important ingredients in prenatal vitamins). It’s a reality of sourcing nutrients from nature—but one that modern science allows us to manage responsibly, which we do here at Perelel.
Decoding “Parts Per Billion”
When talking about heavy metals, measurements like “parts per billion” (ppb), “parts per million” (ppm) and “micrograms per day” (mcg per day) often come up. This language and these figures can sound alarming out of context, so it’s important to understand that ppm and ppb are concentration measurements that don't account for serving sizes, which vary significantly between supplements, food and water consumed on a daily basis. Both ppm and ppb can represent miniscule amounts after you’ve done the math to adjust for smaller daily serving sizes. Serving size is also important when reviewing heavy metal test results, because the limits we adhere to are not in ppb, they’re in mcg per day3 to monitor what you’d be ingesting on a daily basis.
To put this in perspective, you would need to take almost an entire box of Perelel’s 1st Trimester Pack (which has 30 daily packs) every day to go above the daily heavy metal limits set forth by Prop 65 (the strictest standard). For example:
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24 daily packs a day to hit the arsenic limit
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27 daily packs a day to hit the lead limit
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80 daily packs a day to hit the cadmium limit
To further understand the heavy metals amounts present in our vitamins, it can be helpful to compare the amounts to everyday foods. A serving (1 cup) of raw kale4 has:
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0.4623 mcg of arsenic (2x more than 1 daily pack)
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2.01 mcg of cadmium (39x more than 1 daily pack)
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0.1206 mcg of lead (the same amount as 1 daily pack)
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0.0536 mcg of mercury (the amount of mercury in 1 daily pack is undetectable)
Consumer Lab, the leading provider of independent test results and information on health and nutrition consumer products, offers more helpful examples in this article.
Perelel Holds Itself to the Highest Heavy Metal Standards
Every Perelel product is meticulously formulated with the help of our panel of leading OB/GYNs, fertility doctors, dietitians, naturopaths, and women’s health experts. Together, they bridge published studies with their own clinical insights and even traditional medicine practices to land on a formula that honors the unique needs of each hormonal stage—from nutritional demands to specific symptoms.
Here’s what we do to ensure the safety of our products when it comes to Heavy Metals:
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Prop 65 Compliance: We adhere to California’s Proposition 65, which is one of the strictest consumer protection regulations in the world. Prop 65 specifically looks at contaminants that can cause harm during pregnancy including birth defects as well as other reproductive harm. These are often 1,000 times stricter than those set by the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency), and WHO (World Health Organization).
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EU Standards: In general, based on current regulations, California Proposition 65 (Prop 65) is considered stricter than most EU regulations regarding heavy metal restrictions, particularly because Prop 65 requires warning labels for products containing even very low levels, while the EU often focuses on outright bans or stricter exposure limits for specific heavy metals and chemicals depending on the regulation.
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Clean Label Project Certification: Perelel is Clean Label Project-certified, meaning our products are rigorously tested by a third-party to confirm we are compliant with heavy metal limits as well as endocrine disrupting chemicals (like BPA) and pesticide residue (nearly 200 pesticides are checked). The Clean Label Project is a leading nonprofit that sets one of the industry’s highest standards for consumer transparency on heavy metals and contaminants. We’ve received the Clean Label Project’s Purity Award, which places our products in the top 33% of the category for safety.
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Ongoing Third-Party Testing: Every single batch of our vitamins is tested by independent labs that are ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited (an international standard for labs to prove their accuracy and reliability of their testing) to ensure they meet or exceed all of our safety standards.
We’re Committed to Your Health
Your health and the health of your family is our top priority. We at Perelel take safety very seriously. If you have additional questions, we’re here to provide clarity and peace of mind. Reach out at [email protected] if you have any further questions, or would like to see our Certificate of Analysis (COA) from a third-party lab, as well as our Clean Label certification. As always, we’re here for you. Follow us online at @PerelelHealth to keep up to date on all things Perelel — including safety and community information.
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