However, ConsumerLab president Tod Cooperman, M.D., advised using caution, even with products that passed testing. Among these, ConsumerLab selected one as its Top Pick for seaweed snacks, based on quality as well as taste and cost. Only two products passed all of ConsumerLab's tests of qualty and were Approved.

Heavy metal contamination is a known issue with seaweed foods, and, although some products bear warning labels indicating that they may pose a risk of reproductive harm (typically due to lead), the amounts and types of toxic metals they contain are typically not listed. Among the seaweed products tested by ConsumerLab, amounts of iodine provided ranged from 66.5 mcg to more than 18,000 mcg per suggested serving. The amount of iodine per day that one can safely tolerate ranges from 200 mcg in young children to 1,100 mcg in adults. Another product containined three times the California Prop 65 limit for cadmium as well as exceeding iodine limits for children.Īlthough iodine is important for proper thyroid function, getting too much iodine can impair thyroid function and have other adverse effects. It also exceeded limits for lead and cadmium. For example, one product contained more than 16 times the UL for iodine for adults and as much as 90 times the limit for children, depending on their age. However, recent ConsumerLab tests revealed that some seaweed snacks contained so much iodine that they could be dangerous to consume on a regular basis, and most were contaminated with concerning levels of toxic heavy metals such as lead and cadmium.įour of the six popular seaweed snacks selected, purchased, and tested by ConsumerLab exceeded, in a single serving, the Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL) for iodine for children or adults, and/or contained unacceptable concentrations of lead or cadmium, or arsenic. White Plains, New York, DecemDried or roasted seaweed has become a popular snack, providing a tasy, crunchy, and vegan-friendly source of protein, fiber, and iodine, an essential nutrient for proper thyroid function.

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