Food, Beverage & Supplement Analytical Services
Brooks Applied Labs offers analytical services for heavy metals and elemental speciation for the food, beverage, and supplement industries with some of the lowest quantitation limits commercially available.
With over a decade of experience – ranging from authoring the AOAC 2015.01 method for heavy metals testing in foods, helping certify a new reference material for heavy metals and arsenic species as part of an international collaboration, to being one of the first commercial laboratories in the US to be deemed highly proficient in heavy metals testing by the Baby Food Council – clients can trust the quality of the results we provide.
Heavy Metals Analysis
The presence of trace levels of heavy metals in food, beverages, and dietary supplements has come under heightened scrutiny due to increasing consumer awareness and a wave of recent regulatory actions. In particular, U.S. and international agencies have intensified efforts to reduce exposure to toxic elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic, and cadmium — especially in products consumed by vulnerable populations like infants and young children.
Inorganic Arsenic Analysis
While many food and supplement products contain detectable levels of arsenic, not all forms of arsenic pose the same health risks or fall under regulatory scrutiny. Over two dozen arsenic species have been identified in various foods. Differentiating between toxic and non-toxic forms through speciation analysis is now more critical than ever — especially as global regulatory agencies tighten their focus on inorganic arsenic, the most harmful form.
Methylmercury Analysis
It is well known that mercury is a potent toxin that can severely impair the human nervous system, so monitoring mercury levels in dietary supplements, foods, and other consumer products has long been a priority. While demonstrating that natural products are free of mercury is important, testing for the specific form known as methylcercury is often recommended since it is a powerful neurotoxin.
California Proposition 65 Analysis
California Proposition 65 requires businesses (manufactures, distributors, & retailers) to notify consumers through proper labeling if their products contain any of the listed chemicals above what has been determined to be a safe lever of daily exposure (know as “Safe Harbor” levels).
Brooks Applied Labs offers businessess heavy metals analyses to certify that the levels in their products are below the limits established by Prop 65.
