Heavy metal limits for spices in the EU are legal maximum levels. A lot above the limit cannot be sold. California's Proposition 65 works another way: it does not ban a spice, but it requires a warning on the pack when a listed chemical such as lead exposes consumers above a set level, and it allows private lawsuits. So the EU limit is a pass or fail, while Prop 65 is a labelling and litigation risk.
Heavy metal limits for spices in the EU
The EU sets maximum levels for lead and cadmium in specified foods, including dried spices, in Regulation (EU) 2023/915. The levels depend on the type of spice, grouped by the part of the plant, such as seed, fruit, root or bark. They are given in milligrams per kilogram, and the numbers have been revised, so read the current Annex on EUR-Lex for your spice instead of using a figure from memory.
Importers carry the legal duty to place compliant food on the market. Which heavy metal limits apply to spices and herbs gives a plain guide, and how heavy metals are tested in botanicals explains the lab method.
A practical tip: ask the lab to report each metal separately with its reporting limit, not a pass or fail line. That gives you a number to compare across lots and suppliers over time. A rising trend in one supplier's lead results is an early warning, well before any single lot breaches a limit.
A practical tip: ask the lab to report each metal separately with its reporting limit, not a pass or fail line. That gives you a number to compare across lots and suppliers over time. A rising trend in one supplier's lead results is an early warning, well before any single lot breaches a limit.
Prop 65 and lead in spices
Lead is on the Proposition 65 list. If a product sold in California exposes a person to lead above the safe harbour level, it needs a clear warning, unless the seller can show the exposure is below that level. The level is expressed as a daily exposure, so serving size and how often the product is used matter, not only the lab result in milligrams per kilogram. Enforcement is often brought by private parties.
This means a lot that passes EU limits can still need a warning in California, and the reverse is possible. Work out the intake from the serving size on your label, with a Prop 65 adviser.
Why the test regimes differ
For the EU, you test the lot against the legal limit for that spice type. For Prop 65, you test to a lower detection level, then calculate exposure from the serving. Ask the lab for a low reporting limit, because a result shown as below a high limit tells you little in the Prop 65 case.
In both cases, the source matters. Lead in spices can come from soil, from drying on contaminated ground, and from adulteration with pigments. Checking turmeric for lead chromate adulteration covers the worst case.
What to do before you order
Ask the supplier for heavy metal results by lot, and have an independent lab confirm them. Include the limit and the method in the contract. Choose suppliers who control drying and storage and who can name their raw material source. Costs depend on the tests and the grade, and a real quote comes from a sourcing review. See reading a lab certificate to judge the reports.
Next step
We have lots tested to the method you need and check the reports. Book a free sourcing review.