Communicating heavy-metal testing for baby food without overclaiming

If your pack needs a free-of claim, this program is not the fit. That sentence is the honest-out. Quality, regulatory, scientific affairs, and claims reviewers already know overclaiming is the trap. This page is a can-say / cannot-say file for US infant, child, and family food brands, written so a legal reviewer can use it.

It does not name analytes. It does not publish limits. It does not say a product is safe. It is not a laboratory.

What you are allowed to stand behind

Heavy Metal Tested is an independent Paleo Foundation certification that evaluates food, supplement, and consumer products against a published standard and licenses a mark to products that meet it.

When a named product has been licensed, you can say:

• Independent certification against a published standard.
• Testing was coordinated through a qualified independent ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory.
• The Heavy Metal Certified mark is licensed because the product met the published subcategory standard.
• Certification is valid one year, with annual retesting.
• It is a certification program, not a laboratory.

Stop there. Describe the standard. Describe the mark. Do not upgrade the sentence.

See what Heavy Metal Tested certification is and what the Heavy Metal Certified mark means.

What you cannot say

• A free-of claim. The program does not license an absence claim.
• A pass on safety. The program does not claim that a product is safe.
• A brand-wide halo when only named SKUs were evaluated.
• Required by a regulator. This is a voluntary certification. No government agency requires this certification.
• That a lot COA or a QR dump is the mark. See lot testing versus certification.
• That Paleo or Keto history is proof of Heavy Metal Tested.
• That a product which did not meet the standard is still entitled to the mark. If it does not meet the published standard, the mark is not licensed. See when a product does not meet the standard.

Do not print a government-approval halo. Do not treat Closer to Zero, a state statute, or a retailer questionnaire as if they licensed this mark.

Why the free-of line is out

Absence language is what parents type and what reviewers reject. Detection is not the same as a certification decision, and a certification decision is not a medical conclusion. If marketing needs a zero slogan, they are shopping for a different program. This one will not stretch to meet them.

That limit is what keeps the mark usable. A claim that cannot be defended is worse than no claim.

How to brief brand and legal

Give them three nouns: program, published standard, licensed mark. Give them the term: valid one year, annual retesting. Give them the negative: not a laboratory, not a safety verdict, not a statutory substitute. Then send them to eligibility before anyone designs a pack change.

The process, when a SKU is in scope: apply; coordinate testing through a qualified independent ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory; license the Heavy Metal Certified mark to products that meet the published subcategory standard; recertify annually with retesting.

Eligibility is not an application and not a close. Map language before anyone prints a claim.

FAQ

Can we say the product is free of heavy metals if we certify? No. This program does not support a free-of claim.

Can we say the product is safe? No.

Can we say a government agency requires the mark? No. Certification is voluntary.

Can we put the mark on every SKU in the brand? Only on products for which the mark has been licensed against the published subcategory standard.

How should we start? A 30-minute eligibility conversation so both sides can see whether the subcategory, the SKU set, and the language even fit.

Next step

If you own quality, regulatory, scientific affairs, or claims review for a US infant, child, or family food line, book a 30-minute eligibility conversation. Bring the draft pack line you wish you could print. We will tell you whether this program can stand behind it.