Pumpkin Seeds (Pepitas) Review

How Products Were Selected:

Selected products represent those commonly sold and/or available nationally in the U.S. ConsumerLab.com purchased products on the open market through retail stores, on-line retailers, or direct sales companies. Products were not accepted directly from manufacturers.

Testing Methods:
Products were tested in one or more independent laboratories for the following:

1. Microbial contamination: Analysis of microbial contaminants using the FDA's Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) and AOAC methodologies with application to USP <2023> for E.coli, Salmonella, Listeria, yeast and mold.
2. Heavy metals and sodium: Analyses for lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury and sodium using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectroscopy (ICP-MS).

Testing was performed by one or more independent laboratories. Any product that did not pass testing (below) was sent to another independent laboratory to repeat testing for the criterion on which it did not pass.

ConsumerLab.com may modify or use other appropriate test methods if necessary to test special product formulations.

Identities of products were not disclosed to the laboratories performing the testing.

Passing Score:^*
To be "Approved" by ConsumerLab.com, a product must meet the following requirements:

1. Test negative for Escherichia coli, Salmonella spp., and Listeria. Total combined yeasts and molds count NMT 1,000 cfu/g USP <2023>.
2. Products with added sodium: Sodium: Within 25 mg/serving or 25% above claim, whichever is greater.
3. Heavy Metals: All Products. Products must not exceed the following limits:
   Lead:
   • Products marketed for use by children under 12 years of age may not exceed the State of California's Prop 65 limits for lead in dietary supplements of 0.5 mcg per recommended daily serving with an additional allowance of 0.8 mcg if the product contains more than 1,000 mg/day of calcium.
   • Products with a single serving weight of less than 5 grams that are not marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, may not exceed the State of California's Prop 65 limits for lead in dietary supplements of 0.5 mcg per recommended daily serving (above which a warning regarding reproductive harm, birth defects, or cancer risks is required in California) with an additional allowance of 0.4 mcg if containing 250-999 mg/day of any combination of elemental calcium, magnesium and potassium or 0.8 mcg if containing more than 1,000 mg/day of any combination of these minerals. An additional allowance of 0.5 mcg is provided if containing 250-999 mg/day of whole herb (not extract) or 1.0 mcg if containing 1000 mg/day or more of whole herb (not extract). However, total lead allowance must not exceed 2 mcg per daily serving.
   • Products with single serving weights of 5 grams or more that are not marketed for children under 12 years of age may not exceed 2.5 mcg per serving nor 4.0 mcg per daily serving.
   Arsenic:
   • Contain less than 10 micrograms of total arsenic per daily serving (based on Canada’s limit per daily serving of a natural health product, and U.S. EPA and state of New Jersey limit in 1 liter of water). Products found to exceed this amount were tested for inorganic arsenic and must not contain more than 2.1 micrograms of inorganic arsenic per daily serving (Canada's additional limit in natural health products).
   Cadmium:
   • If marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, may not exceed 3.0 micrograms of cadmium per recommended daily serving (based on Canada's limit for a child weighing 75lbs). If not marketed for use by children under 12 years of age, may not exceed 4.1 micrograms of cadmium per recommended daily serving (above which California's Prop 65 law requires a "reproductive harm" warning due to developmental toxicity and male reproductive harm.
   Mercury:
   • May not exceed 2 micrograms of inorganic mercury per daily serving (based on EPA limit for mercury in 1 liter of water).
4. Be in compliance with FDA labeling requirements..

A "Pass" was based on meeting the above criteria in either the first or second rounds of testing.

* Passing scores allow for specific margins of technical error associated with each analysis. ConsumerLab.com reserves the right to disqualify a product at any time from passing its testing if it considers such product to display unacceptable variation, present a safety risk or to provide misleading or inaccurate information in its labeling.