Popular Salt Product Under Fire As Claims of 'Improper Levels of Heavy Metals' Mount
According to the public filing from ClassAction, heavy metal testing has been performed and tested positive for 460 ppb (parts per billion) of lead and 140 ppb of arsenic. For reference, in bottled water, the FDA currently allows a maximum of 5 ppb of lead, while the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency allows for 15 ppb of lead in public drinking water (such as tap water from the pipes).The Plaintiff, Mark Gonzalez of Los Angeles County, is filing the claim individually and "on behalf of all others similarly situated." The suit is claiming that "no level of lead exposure is safe," and that the Good Manufacturing Practice Quality Product label, among other packaging details, insinuates that the sea salts are "healthy."
The lawsuit alleges that Celtic Ocean International LLC has failed to warn consumers and is exposing them to unlawful lead contamination, which could lead to damage in the organs, negatively impact the cardiovascular system, and accumulate over time, leaving chronic exposure.
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"Once inside the human body, lead may travel to different tissues and organs, including the liver and kidneys, where it can cause damage to cells and tissues," the lawsuit said. Celtic Sea Salt is currently available at Amazon and Walmart.
Considering that similar lawsuits have come to light, like General Mill's Cocoa Puffs being accused of having high levels of lead for $5 million back in 2024, the FDA is actively working on the Closer to Zero campaign. This initiative is meant to reduce childhood exposure to contaminants from foods by "developing new and improved testing methods to measure lower levels of contaminants in food."
In the same vein, Ziploc was just accused of deceptive labeling. The lawsuit argues that the labeling "microwave safe" and "freezer safe" ignore that microplastics may seep into your food.Popular Salt Product Under Fire As Claims of 'Improper Levels of Heavy Metals' Mount first appeared on Men's Journal on Jun 26, 2025
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