News for hackers. Stuff that matters.
Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by dsizzle on Sunday November 28, 2021 @08:52PM (#29375397)
It's not clear where the heavy metals are coming from. One possibility mentioned in the article is the soil itself. I wonder if even potting soil is tested for heavy metals? If heavy metals get through whatever food testing is done by the FDA, McCormick, etc., I don't have great confidence that soil testing is any better. That said, I would think growing your own is safer.
Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by Eelongate on Sunday November 28, 2021 @08:57PM (#29375433)
> If heavy metals get through whatever food testing is done by the FDA

About that...

> In addition, the limited testing the FDA has done on spices has been focused on harmful bacteria, such as salmonella, not heavy metals, Ronholm says.

Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by dsizzle on Sunday November 28, 2021 @09:10PM (#29375528)
Right, there you go. (Although it doesn't say it completely ignores it either, just that it's not a focus.)
Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by windex on Monday November 29, 2021 @12:06AM (#29376600)
The reason for these is probabaly the extreme depths from which water is pumped. The normal shallow ground waters arent this bad with arsenic I would assume.
Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by _dark_matter_ on Sunday November 28, 2021 @11:04PM (#29376239)
I wonder if hydroponically grown herbs would lack them. Could be a business opportunity, if people care enough (or the government steps in to regulate).
Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by NikolaeVarius on Sunday November 28, 2021 @08:56PM (#29375426)
You assume the soil you have is "safe"
Re:Herbs and Spices Might Contain Arsenic, Cadmium, and Lead by dsizzle on Sunday November 28, 2021 @09:12PM (#29375551)
Just did a little searching and came across this https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-nov-07-hm-reali...

That person did some lab testing and found high levels of lead in their backyard-grown chard.