Our Safety Standards & Heavy Metals Testing

At Nurture Life, the safety and quality of our products are our number one priority for both us and the families we serve. That’s why we hold ourselves to testing standards higher than what are set for food companies in the United States. We routinely test our baby food products for heavy metals to ensure your child’s safety while delivering the balanced nutrition their growing bodies need. Our food’s test results must meet Nurture Life’s strict standards or we will not sell these products. Please see below for the details on our testing standards and methods.

Heavy Metals Testing

• We send all of our Finger Food meals to a third-party certified lab to test for heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.
• Why do we test for heavy metals? Cadmium, mercury, arsenic, and lead are metals that naturally occur in the earth’s crust, soil, water, and air. However, their concentrations have significantly increased due to improper waste disposal, agricultural runoff, and industrial emissions, leading to a rise in environmental and food supply contamination. Exposure to these toxic metals, especially in high amounts, can disrupt development, particularly during early childhood. Reducing exposure requires knowing the source of ingredients, understanding processing methods, and rigorously testing the final product. We adhere to the 2025 limits for lead set by the FDA, and the European Union (EU) safety thresholds for arsenic, mercury, and cadmium. We choose to follow both the EU and FDA regulations because they provide the lowest maximum allowable limits for contaminants and we are committed to ensuring all of our Finger Foods meet those standards. Our food’s test results must meet Nurture Life’s strict standards or we will not sell these products.
• Test results are updated here monthly. We are committed to full customer transparency, which is why we are adding a QR code on the packaging of all our Finger Food products that links directly to live testing results.

*Results reflect total arsenic concentration (organic and inorganic).  Standard of <20PPB is for inorganic arsenic only.

Pesticide Residue Testing

• Fewer toxins in the soil where produce is grown means fewer toxins in the food. We prioritize use of organic produce in all of our menu items, but since it can be difficult to consistently source organic ingredients in the quantities we need, we are not 100% organic. We only partner with purveyors who share our values—working with farmers and food producers who regularly test their produce to ensure strict compliance to USDA and EPA guidelines for pesticide residues.
• In addition, we send all non-organic produce in our Finger Foods along with all flavors of Oaties to a third party lab to test for over 150 pesticide residues based on USDA National Organic Program (NOP) standards.
• Our standard for pesticide residue testing is strict: non-detect. Finished goods test results must fall at or below Nurture Life’s limits (non-detectable) or we will not sell these products.

Our Never Evers

The ingredients on this list are commonly used in processed foods to enhance flavor, color, texture or shelf life, but the latest scientific research has called their safety into question. Since our meals are freshly made and focused on real nutrition, we never use them!

• Synthetic Nitrates/Nitrites (Sodium or Potassium Nitrate/Nitrite)
• Potassium Bromate
• High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)
• Partially hydrogenated oils (trans fats)
• Brominated vegetable oil
• Propylparaben
• Butylated Hydroxyanisole (BHA)
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
• Propyl Gallate
• Theobromine
• Artificial Flavors
• Synthetic Colors (F, D & C)
• Diacetyl
• Bisphenol-A (BPA)
• Carrageenan