What's in your food that isn't on the label?
Food labels list ingredients—not contaminants. Lead, arsenic, PFAS, and pesticide residues end up in products because of how they're grown, processed, and packaged. The only way to know is to test.
The Problem
Today, manufacturers test their own products and don't publish the results. There's no independent check. Labels like “organic” or country of origin don't reliably predict contaminant levels.
When independent labs do test, they consistently find that contaminant levels vary widely between brands—and lower-contamination options usually exist. The data is actionable. It just doesn't exist for most products yet. That's the gap Canopy is designed to close.
Examples of what independent testing has found:
Lead & Chromium in Cinnamon Applesauce Pouches
In late 2023, the FDA investigated cinnamon applesauce and fruit-purée pouches found to contain extremely high levels of lead, along with chromium.
Read source →What they found
- FDA traced hundreds of illness reports to cinnamon applesauce and fruit-purée pouches contaminated with lead and chromium.
- The contamination was linked to elevated blood-lead levels in young children, and lead is unsafe for kids at any level.
- The cinnamon in the recalled pouches carried extremely high lead concentrations—consistent with lead chromate added to the spice.
Regulations not being met
- Lead far exceeded FDA's interim reference levels for products intended for babies and young children.
- The contamination went undetected until state and independent testing flagged it—no manufacturer disclosure caught it.
None of these findings came from the manufacturers.
Canopy crowdfunds contaminant testing of everyday products by independent, third-party labs.
You tell us what you buy, we send it to an accredited lab, and the results are published for everyone.
Some level of contamination is unavoidable—but what's safe for one person isn't necessarily safe for another. A pregnant woman, a toddler, and a healthy adult all have different thresholds. Canopy gives you the actual numbers so you can decide what's acceptable for you and your family.
Here's how it works:
1
Tell us what you buy
Submit a product and choose which contaminants to test for.
2
Fund it together
Others who buy the same product pledge alongside you, splitting the cost.
3
Get your results
An accredited lab tests the product and publishes the results— with "lines of concern" to understand what's acceptable for you and your family.
What goes into a test campaign's funding goal?
Every goal is based on the actual costs of running that specific test. No markup beyond what it takes to get the test done and keep Canopy running.
What we test
We currently test food products, with plans to expand into toiletries, cosmetics, clothing, and cleaning supplies.
Heavy Metals Panel
Tests for lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury — metals that build up in the body rather than clearing quickly. Health agencies set intake limits for each, and for lead, U.S. agencies identify no safe level of exposure for children. None of it appears on the label, and levels differ from one product to the next.
How The Test Is Performed
The food sample is broken down with acid, then heated into a plasma (an extremely hot gas) that strips the metals into individual atoms. A detector (ICP-MS) then counts each type of metal atom, identifying exactly how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, or mercury is present — even at parts-per-billion levels.
Good foods to test
- •Baby food & infant formula
- •Rice & rice-based products
- •Chocolate & cocoa products
- •Spices (turmeric, cinnamon, oregano)
- •Root vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots)
- •Fruit juices (apple, grape)
- •Protein powders
Heavy Metals Panel
Tests for lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury — metals that build up in the body rather than clearing quickly. Health agencies set intake limits for each, and for lead, U.S. agencies identify no safe level of exposure for children. None of it appears on the label, and levels differ from one product to the next.
How The Test Is Performed
The food sample is broken down with acid, then heated into a plasma (an extremely hot gas) that strips the metals into individual atoms. A detector (ICP-MS) then counts each type of metal atom, identifying exactly how much lead, arsenic, cadmium, or mercury is present — even at parts-per-billion levels.
Good foods to test
- •Baby food & infant formula
- •Rice & rice-based products
- •Chocolate & cocoa products
- •Spices (turmeric, cinnamon, oregano)
- •Root vegetables (sweet potatoes, carrots)
- •Fruit juices (apple, grape)
- •Protein powders
Stay in the loop
Get updates on new test requests and results delivered to your inbox.