It is impossible for multi-vitamins to be 100% Lead Free.
Here's some info on that:
So here's what I got from reading that original data from the FDA and we talked about it thouroughly here at the store.
If you read the link Table 1. Summary fo Pb Results you'll notice that the PTTI (ugPb/day) coloumn shows what the ACCEPTABLE levels of lead are.
For young children 0-6yrs of age the ACCEPTABLE level of lead is 6 pb/day - NONE of the companies listed reach or exceed this limit. Infact, the highest level found in the tested vitamins was 2.88 & 2.24 all other vitamins fell under 0.89
For Older children 7+ yr the ACCEPTABLE level is 15 per day of the vitamins tested the highest amount found was 1.78.
For Pregnant/lactating women the ACCEPTABLE amount is 25 of the vitamins tested the highest was 8.97, 5.52, 4.73, and the rest falling 3 points and under.
For Adult women the ACCEPTABLE level is 75 with the highest level found in the vitamins tested at 4.92
Now, I'm not a fan of the fact that any levels of lead are present. I'm assumming there is a reason...so for that I did contact about 15 of the companies that were listed that I am familiar with to see what their replies are. With it being a holiday I won't hear back from them until about Tues or Weds. But I promise to cut and paste all their replies Here and on the other post so that you mommies can feel assured that your vitamins are safe (or god forbid, you need to dump them and change to another brand)
Here is the reply from Carlson (one of the company's I contacted)
"Dear Susanna,
Thank you for e-mailing Carlson with your concerns. The reality is that ALL calcium dietary supplements on the market will contain at least very trace amounts of lead. This is evident by fact that every calcium product tested contained at least detectable levels. Lead is a naturally occurring earth metal that is found with minerals such as calcium and magnesium. The real issue with calcium supplements is not whether lead will be present (it will be to some degree), but how much is present. As long as the total lead level is below a threshold level of concern, a calcium containing product will be approved by Carlson’s Quality Control department.
Based upon the values given in the chart provided, Carlson for Kids contains 0.150 micrograms towards the permissible 6.0 micrograms for children 0-6 years of age. This is 2.5% of the permitted safe daily intake of lead before safety concern is warranted. Carlson Prenatal contains 1.47 micrograms of total lead towards the permissible 25 micrograms for pregnant women. This is 5.88% of the permitted safe daily intake of lead before safety concern is warranted. Both of these products contain very low levels of lead and are very safe when used as directed.
Reports like this can appear to be quite shocking. However, it is important to remember that it is the dose that makes a poison. Doses below a threshold level of concern are not problematic. It is only when the tolerable daily upper limit is exceeded that toxicity becomes a concern. For example, even distilled water is toxic in high levels because it causes hyponatremia!
Perhaps the most important statement from this survey is that ALL products tested were found to be below the PTTI level for the population that is meant to use these products. Although the article appears to have a negative connotation, it is actually a testament to the purity of most calcium containing supplements.
Regards,
Timothy Johanek
Educational Coordinator
J.R. Carlson Laboratories, Inc.
(847) 255 1600
New Chapter's Reply
Hi Susanna
Thank you for your interest in New Chapter. New Chapter is very pleased with the results of the lead testing conducted by the FDA on four of our products. www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/pbvitami.html They revealed that not only does our suggested serving size contain a tiny fraction of the FDA's Provisional Total Tolerable Intake Levels of lead (27 mcg/day for pregnant women and 75 mcg for adult women), but they are also well below the proposed NSF International limits of 2.5 mcg/day and Canada's NHPD lim of <0.29 mcg/Kg body weight/day.
It is important to keep in mind that lead is a naturally occurring element in Earth's crust and is ubiquitous the environment. As such, low levels are almost always present in the food supply. Because New Chapter's products contain whole food ingredients, it is virtually impossible to make them lead free. However, we do use certified organic whole food ingredients which have been shown to contain lower levels of heavy metals. Furthermore, as the FDA testing showed, the content of lead is well below that of most of our competitors and not considered a safety concern whatsoever.
We hope this information is helpful.
Best wishes,
Shauna Wall
Product Specialist/ Consumer Support
New Chapter, Inc.
800-543-7279
Also:
The World Health Organization (WHO) established the "tolerable weekly intake" level for lead obtained from food at 1.5 mg (1500 micrograms), corresponding to a daily lead intake of just over 0.2 mg (200 micrograms). Although many parts of the world have not met these standards, most countries, as in the U.S. have. Therefore, a non-pregnant adult who is consuming less than 200 micrograms of lead per day can feel secure that their food is safe.
In the U.S., current lead levels found in food range from 0.1 ppm to 0.3 ppm, and thus most foods meet the safe standards established by WHO. An American adult who consumes about 1 kg of food (which is average), with a lead level of 0.1 to 0.3 ppm in "clean food," consumes at between 0.1 to 0.3 mg (100 to 300 micrograms) per day. That is our current baseline, and is not thought to cause harm.
The adult body can eliminate 300 micrograms (and more) lead per day, preventing lead from concentrating and causing harm. Only high lead exposure leads to neurological problems in children (and fetuses), and high blood pressure in adults.
So if the FDA has 75 micrograms as an acceptable daily lead limit, this is actually much lower than what WHO considers to be acceptable. I have to say, that makes me feel better. I do, however, wish it listed a limit for children and pregnant women.
Also, I read that if you get enough calcium, iron and vitamin C, this will also help your body eliminate lead, so I would assume that these items found in the supplements would help to "cancel out" the amount of lead.
Here's a link to the full article:
http://ezinearticles.com/?Lead-in-Our-Food?--Now,-THAT-is-a-Heavy-Meal!&id=1273476
For a company to display the USDA organic label, it must have 95% or higher organic ingredients with the other 5% being from an approved list.
To carry the new 
The Eco-Cert label has fallen under scrutiny lately, for allowing synthetics in products (which is against it's own rules) with many 
Fake Organics:
by Jeffrey Hollender
Many of these companies misbrand “Organics” on their labels but consumers should look for products certified under the USDA like Dr. Bronner’s, because there are other weak so-called “organic” standards that a product can become "certified" under, which do not allow ethoxylation and 1,4-Dioxane, but allow hydrogenation and sulfation of conventional, not organic material, to make cleansing ingredients preserved with synthetic preservatives.
just look at my list...all those "good guys" don't use sythetic chemicals to preserve their products, and you don't have to store them in the fridge either. you treat them just like you would any other product you use.
