Plant Milks (Almond, Oat, Coconut, Other Non-Soy/Non-Rice)
This page is HMTc Category 5 row 5. It remains a clean-benchmark candidate, but the current evidence is not strong enough to use it as a clean comparator without more occurrence extraction.
Who this page is for
Heavy Metal Index pages are written for several audiences at once. Each entry point below names where to start if you are reading this page with a specific question in mind.
- Brand legal and regulatory affairs
- Cherry-pick attack vectors on non-soy non-rice plant milks (almond, oat, coconut, cashew, etc.) typically center on cadmium and lead with high inter-variety variance. Source provenance and varietal disclosure are the defensive core. The within-pair rice-based sibling (Category 5 row 7) was retired by Amendment 1 on 2026-04-28 and re-routed to Category 3 row 10 (Rice beverages); a cross-category CC pairing with that row may apply once Category 3 is locked. The cited sources at the bottom of this page are the citations list, written to be quoted into a Daubert brief without further editing.
- Retailer quality and compliance
- The Federal / Regulatory Limits vs Field Findings section compares the applicable regulatory cap to cited field evidence on a like-for-like basis, with basis conversion shown when conversion is well-defined and a methodology anchor when speciation differs. The Literature Evidence Summary gives source count and confidence rating per analyte.
- Brand QA and product development
- Use the Lab Result Comparator to position a single lab value inside the cited literature. The comparator positions a single lab value inside the cited literature for non-soy non-rice plant milks.
- Regulators, journalists, and adversarial readers
- Every numeric claim on this page traces to a source page. The Evidence Governance note explains what this page is and is not (literature evidence, not HMT&C certification thresholds).
- HMT&C staff (internal)
- HMT&C certification thresholds for products in this row are developed under the certification program at heavymetaltested.com, not on this public page. The Index and HMT&C operate on the same evidence base but apply different publication rules; see the methodology for the separation.
Methodology
This page reports what the peer-reviewed and regulatory literature states about heavy-metal concentrations in non-soy/non-rice plant milks (almond, oat, coconut, and other varieties). HMT&C certification thresholds for products in this row are developed under the certification program at heavymetaltested.com, not on this page.
Speciation is non-substitutable. Inorganic arsenic (iAs) and total arsenic (tAs) are separate analytes. Total mercury (tHg) and methylmercury (MeHg) are separate analytes. Total chromium (Cr) and hexavalent chromium (Cr-VI) are separate analytes. Values are never interchanged across speciation boundaries.
Basis is preserved and labeled. Concentration values are reported as the source states them (as consumed, as placed on market, dry weight). Conversion between bases is shown explicitly when performed; silent conversion is never done.
Row-fit follows author scope. A source’s matrix and format classification is determined by what the authors state, not by re-derivation. Vague author scope receives a partial row-fit designation; sources silent on matrix receive an unknown designation.
Non-detect handling preserves source convention. Sources that report non-detects as zero, as LOD/2, or as <LOD are recorded as stated. The convention is noted in the Source Evidence Inventory.
Source pooling is avoided across different LOQ thresholds, collection periods, geographies, and analytical-basis differences without explicit documentation of the pooling rationale.
Decision Snapshot
| Field | Status |
|---|---|
| Row state | Early source coverage only |
| Best current source | marques2021-trace-elements-milks-plant-based-drinks |
| Computation readiness | Not computation-ready; table values need source review |
| Ingredient routing | plant-milk, almond, oat, coconut |
| HMTc use | Hold as clean-benchmark hypothesis, not clean-benchmark evidence |
Federal / Regulatory Limits vs Field Findings
This is the fast comparison view for standards developers, regulators, retailers, brands, and legal teams. It shows the applicable federal or regulatory limit next to the current field-evidence state. It is not an HMTc pass/fail table; technical distributions remain in the evidence sections below.
| Metal | Federal / regulatory limit | Actual field finding | Decision read | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| lead (Pb); mercury-total (tHg); uranium (U) | No federal product-specific limit loaded in this crosswalk. | Marques 2021 reports Pb detected in one non-organic oat drink and Hg/U non-detected in milks and plant-based drinks; numeric table extraction requires review. | Occurrence evidence only. Do not infer a federal exceedance or HMTc pass/fail result from this row. | marques2021-trace-elements-milks-plant-based-drinks |
Broad Product Context: Author-Scope Index
Broad-context source index will be auto-generated here when the routing audit identifies sources whose author-stated scope is broader than this product row.
Source Evidence Inventory
Sources contributing measured non-soy/non-rice plant milk concentrations are listed below. Intake and exposure estimates are kept separate from measured product concentrations.
Occurrence Evidence
marques2021-trace-elements-milks-plant-based-drinks measured almond, oat, rice, and soy drinks from the Spanish retail market. It supports routing and shows why non-soy/non-rice plant milks cannot simply be assumed clean, but it is not enough to populate thresholds.
Ingredient Handling
Finished oat or almond beverage values belong on this product row. Ingredient-only almond, oat, coconut, or plant-milk values belong on the linked ingredient pages if those sources are later promoted.
Literature Evidence Summary
The table below summarizes what the peer-reviewed and government literature cited on this page reports for heavy-metal concentrations in non-soy (cow milk-based) product. Values are pulled directly from cited sources without re-aggregation; pooling, percentile selection, and threshold math sit in the staff Standards Workbench rather than this public page.
Methodology rules for speciation, basis preservation, non-detect handling, and source pooling are stated in the Methodology section above and apply to every row below.
| Analyte | Subcategory | Reported concentration range | Detection rate | Applicable regulatory cap | Sources | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al | non-soy (cow milk-based) (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| Ni | non-soy (cow milk-based) (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| Cd | non-soy (cow milk-based) (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| iAs | non-soy (cow milk-based) (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| Pb | non-soy (cow milk-based) (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
Sources
Auto-generated from source-page frontmatter. The “Used on this page for” column is populated by the orchestrator’s POPULATE-SOURCE-LEGEND action; pending entries appear as *[awaiting synthesis]*.
| # | Citation | Year | Type | Used on this page for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Begday et al. 2026. Integral assessment of the environmental safety of plant-based milk alternatives based on heavy metal analysis, Izvestiya KGTU (KSTU News) | 2026 | Peer-reviewed | RU Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu occurrence in Eight plant-based milk samples assessed on the Russian market: four commercial ready-to-drink beverages (one each of almond, rice,… (n=8) |
| 2 | Good et al. 2026. Comparative exposure and risk assessment of heavy metals, nutrients, and organochlorine pesticides in cow and plant-based milks, Scientific Reports | 2026 | Peer-reviewed | US Cr, tAs, Cd, Pb occurrence in Twenty-two commercially available milk products purchased from major grocery retailers in Houston, Texas, USA. Eight milk-type categories: cow… (n=22) |
| 3 | Zvěřina et al. 2025. Essential and toxic elements in plant-based dairy alternatives: implications for vegan diets, European Food Research and Technology | 2025 | Peer-reviewed | CZ/EU Pb, Cd occurrence in Fifty-four plant-based dairy alternative (PBDA) samples sourced from the Czech market in Brno, Czech Republic. Composition: 35 milk… (n=54) |
| 4 | Song et al. 2024. Development of a Fast Method Using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry Coupled with High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Exploration of the Reduction Mechanism of Cr(VI) in Foods, Toxics 12(5): 325 | 2024 | Peer-reviewed | CN Cr-VI, Cr occurrence in Seven commercially purchased food samples from a local supermarket in Nanjing, China — milk powder, rice flour, whole… (n=7) |
| 5 | Redan et al. 2023. Analysis of Eight Types of Plant-based Milk Alternatives from the United States Market for Target Minerals and Trace Elements, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis | 2023 | Peer-reviewed | US tAs, Cd, Pb occurrence in Eighty-five plant-based milk alternative product units from 19 brands purchased from 10 retail markets and an online retailer… (n=85) |
| 6 | Marques et al. 2021. Essential and Non-essential Trace Elements in Milks and Plant-Based Drinks, Biological Trace Element Research | 2021 | Peer-reviewed | ICP-MS survey of Pb, tHg, Ni, and U in retail cow milk, goat milk, and plant-based drinks (soy, almond, rice, oat) from Spain; Pb detected in one non-organic oat drink; primary occurrence source for the non-soy/non-rice plant-milk row |
CC candidate evidence map
| Analyte | Distribution sources (sample-level) | Summary sources | Total source count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pb | — | Marques 2021 (Pb detected in 1 non-organic oat drink composite) | 1 summary |
| Cd, tAs, iAs, MeHg, Al, Sn | — | — | 0 (Marques didn’t measure) |
| tHg | — | Marques 2021 (not detected baseline) | 1 summary |
| Ni | — | Marques 2021 (subset values pending source-table review) | 1 summary |
| Cr-VI | — | inference cascade from Hernandez/Saraiva chemistry (milk-like matrix) | 1 cascade |
Levers to reduce contamination
The levers below are ordered by estimated impact magnitude for finished non-soy/non-rice plant milks (almond, oat, coconut, cashew, and other varieties) as a product category. Evidence is currently thin for this row; Marques 2021 reports Pb detected in one non-organic oat drink and tHg non-detected. Magnitude claims are cited where evidence is available; uncited lever rows carry a placeholder noting that quantified evidence has not yet been ingested.
| Lever category | Specific action | Estimated magnitude | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sourcing | For oat-based: source oat from suppliers with documented Cd and Pb specifications; oats can accumulate Cd from phosphate-fertilized soils; organic vs non-organic sourcing may affect Pb burden per Marques 2021 detection pattern | Pb detected in 1 non-organic oat drink, non-detect in organic variants, in Marques 2021 (n=42 plant-drinks; exact oat-subset count pending table extraction) | 1 |
| Sourcing | For almond-based: almonds can accumulate Cd; origin matters; California vs Mediterranean origins differ on soil Cd burden | Quantified magnitude data for finished almond beverage Cd not yet ingested; section will be expanded when evidence is available. | — |
| Agronomic | Soil pre-screening requirement in supplier specification for key base-nut and grain crops; affects Cd and Pb burden | Quantified magnitude data not yet ingested | — |
| Processing | Water wash and extraction parameters during beverage manufacturing; effect on metal partitioning from nut or grain base to finished beverage has not been characterized in the current evidence base | Quantified magnitude data not yet ingested | — |
| Formulation | Reducing proportion of higher-risk base ingredients (oat, almond) in blended plant beverages in favor of lower-risk bases where Cd/Pb are the target analytes | Quantified magnitude data not yet ingested | — |
| Testing/QC | Lot-level ICP-MS testing for Pb, Cd, Ni, and tAs on finished beverage; particularly relevant given inter-variety variance (oat vs almond vs coconut carry different metal profiles) | Quantified magnitude data not yet ingested | — |
| Packaging/storage | Non-canned format typical for this product class; glass and paperboard cartons appropriate; tin migration is not a primary lever | Not a primary lever for this product class | — |
How standards math uses this page
HMT&C threshold-setting reads this page’s Source Evidence Inventory and Literature Evidence Summary as its literature baseline. Certification threshold decisions are made separately under the certification program and are not published on this public page.
When this page’s source evidence changes — a new source is added to the Source Evidence Inventory, or an existing source’s row-fit is revised — the Standards Workbench snapshot should be regenerated to reflect the updated literature baseline. The workbench snapshot is the threshold-setting surface; this public page is the literature-evidence surface. The two are maintained in parallel by design.
Historical recalls and enforcement
No public recalls or enforcement actions specifically targeting heavy metals in almond, oat, coconut, or other non-soy/non-rice plant milks are documented in the wiki’s source corpus as of the last review. This section will be populated when regulatory enforcement events are ingested.
Frame: if FDA, EU, or national-agency enforcement actions involving heavy metals in this product category are identified in future ingest, they will appear here as regulatory events. This section does not rank brands.
Page history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page. The full version history lives in git; when DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| b0f3d38 | 2026-06-12 | batch | corpus rescreen b04 old terminal skips |