What’s actually slowing this PC down?
Pick the symptom - the matching free tool is one click away.
A Clean Label Project investigation published October 2, 2026, reported detecting lead in 99% of 100 tested cat-food products, cadmium in 96%, and arsenic in 94%. Those figures describe the products sampled—not every cat food on the market—and detection alone does not show that a food contains a harmful dose or will harm a cat. The findings are most useful for comparing patterns by food format and protein, not for declaring a particular food unsafe.
What the investigation tested
Clean Label Project says it bought 100 cat-food products at retail from 62 brands: 31 dry foods, 40 wet foods in cans or pouches, and 29 air-dried or freeze-dried foods. It reported testing for more than 122 environmental and industrial contaminants. The project describes the independent analytical chemistry laboratory as ISO 17025 accredited for the methods involved; it says it used ICP-MS for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury, and LC-MS/MS for bisphenols, acrylamide, glyphosate, AMPA, pesticide panels, and phthalate panels. Clean Label Project’s findings and methods
Results were normalized per 1,000 kilocalories, rather than compared by food weight. That distinction matters because wet food contains more water and generally has lower calorie density; a per-weight comparison could make it appear cleaner through dilution. Clean Label Project says the sampled products ranged from 547 to 5,290 kcal/kg.
Which contaminants were detected?
In the 100 products tested, Clean Label Project reported these detection rates:
The Tool Desk
Outbyte PC Repair FREEClear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Outbyte Driver Updater FREEScan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →#1 Best Overall
- 1100+ ITEM PET INTOLERANCE AT-HOME FUR SAMPLE INSIGHT KIT - Explore personalized pet intolerance insights to over 1100 foods, ingredients, nutritional items, environmental items, and pet care products. Designed to help pet owners better understand and organize ingredient-related information.
- FOODS AND INGREDIENTS, NUTRITIONAL ITEMS, ENVIRONMENTAL ITEMS & PET CARE PRODUCTS - Comprehensive reporting includes foods, ingredients, environmental factors, nutritional components, additives, and common pet care items, providing a broad overview in one easy-to-use system.
- RESULTS READY WITHIN 2 BUSINESS DAYS OF RECEIVING YOUR SAMPLE - Our test kit delivers accurate, easy-to-read, color-coded results, helping you understand how your pet’s diet and lifestyle may be affecting their quality of life by identifying potential intolerances and sensitivities. Move from uncertainty to informed decisions quickly once you receive your pet's results.
- VETERINARIAN-APPROVED WITHOUT A VISIT - Our painless, non-invasive, and affordable at-home testing solutions are backed by veterinary professionals. With no vet visits, waiting rooms, needles, or additional costs, you can easily perform our intolerance test on your dog or cat from the comfort of your home.
- ALL-IN-ONE DIGITAL RESULTS DASHBOARD - Access your personalized digital report and available Ingredient Checker in one convenient online dashboard. With the add-on option of our Ingredient Checker, you can search for ingredients, compare pet food formulas, and make more informed decisions every day with confidence.
| Contaminant | Products with a detection |
|---|---|
| Lead | 99 of 100 |
| Cadmium | 96 of 100 |
| Arsenic | 94 of 100 |
| Glyphosate | 37 of 100 |
| AMPA, a glyphosate breakdown product | 12 of 100 |
| DEHP, a phthalate | 48 of 100 |
| BPA | 2 of 100 |
| BPS | 1 of 100 |
These are counts in the tested sample, not market-wide prevalence estimates. The published summary reports whether a substance was detected and describes relative differences between categories; it does not provide an individual cat’s exposure or a clinical risk estimate. The accessible project page does not include the underlying product-level table unless readers request the full report.
How results differed by food type
The investigation found associations between some ingredients or formats and particular contaminants. No single format or protein source emerged as a solution to every pattern.
Rank #2
- TESTS 955+ ITEMS FOUND IN COMMERCIAL PET FOOD & TREATS. This at-home test for dogs and cats uncovers potential intolerances to ingredients commonly found in dry kibble, and wet/canned food, plus freeze-dried and air-dried formulas.
- DON’T IGNORE THESE SYMPTOMS. Food intolerances can cause pets to have gas, hot spots, excessive fur loss, bad breath, ear infections, or watery eyes because their gut microbiome and digestive enzymes aren’t capable of processing every type of food.
- HOW IT WORKS. Collect 10–15 strands of your pet’s fur, mail them to our certified lab, and receive easy-to-read results in 4 days via email or through our mobile app. Using your results, you can make targeted dietary changes instead of guessing through trial-and-error.
- 4 SEVERITY LEVELS TO GUIDE YOU. Your report categorizes each ingredient as Insignificant, Mild, Moderate, or Severe responses, so you know which foods to remove or reduce from your pet’s diet. This helps improve your pet’s gut health, which then helps reduce or eliminate their symptoms.
- 3RD PARTY VALIDATED & VET-RECOGNIZED. Our intolerance and sensitivity tests use double-pass validation for accuracy, and we’re trusted by holistic veterinarians worldwide. We’ve helped over 345,000 pets and people find answers for their unexplained symptoms from the comfort of their home.
| Comparison | Reported finding |
|---|---|
| Fish- and seafood-based foods versus foods with other proteins | About 18 times more mercury after accounting for wet versus dry format |
| Wet seafood foods versus other wet foods | Nearly 28 times as much mercury |
| Fish- and seafood-based foods versus other foods | About 2.5 times more cadmium |
| Dry foods versus wet or air-dried foods | Roughly three times more lead |
| Each additional plant ingredient among the first ten ingredients | Associated with about 40% higher glyphosate levels |
| Canned and pouched products versus bagged products, when DEHP was detected | About five times more DEHP |
All comparisons above are findings from Clean Label Project’s 2026 sample and are normalized per calorie where applicable. They do not establish that every food in a category has the same level. The organization also reported that 84.8% of poultry products met its purity standard, compared with 25.7% of fish and seafood products. That purity standard is Clean Label Project’s own, not an official government safety threshold.
Fish and seafood
Fish and seafood had the strongest reported association with mercury and also showed higher cadmium than other protein categories. This does not mean every fish-based food tested high: Molly Hamilton, Clean Label Project’s executive director and report author, said, “That doesn’t mean all fish options were high in mercury — levels depend on manufacturers’ quality-control testing.”
Rank #3
- EASY TO USE, IMPACTFUL RESULTS: Collect a sample, package it up, and send it securely back. Just register, swab, return with the included pre-paid mailer, and receive a detailed online report in 4-6 weeks!
- MOST COMPREHENSIVE BREED & TRAIT: Our test distinguishes over 20+ distinct breeds and 50+ trait markers with the most scientifically advanced cat DNA test kit for breed similarity.
- SCREEN FOR 40+ GENETIC DISEASES: Get peace of mind by screening for 64 health markers associated with 43 diseases for which your cat may be genetically predisposed. Early detection helps you and your veterinarian get ahead of diseases before they become life-threatening.
- ONLY TEST WITH ACTIVE ORAL HEALTH REPORT: 70-90% of cats have active oral health issues. Be proactive in care for periodontal disease, bad breath, and tooth resorption to safeguard against diabetes, chronic kidney and heart disease, and other conditions
- VET-TESTED, PET-PARENT APPROVED: Basepaws has been trusted by tens of thousands of pet parents, veterinarians and even Sharktank to provide the most actionable insights to help create care plans for your furry friend
Dry food and poultry
Dry foods had roughly three times the lead levels reported for wet or air-dried foods in this sample. Poultry performed better than fish and seafood on the project’s purity standard, but Hamilton told CNN that chicken showed better results for mercury and cadmium alongside higher rates of lead and herbicides. The results therefore do not support treating poultry, wet food, or any other broad category as categorically safe.
Ingredient lists
More plant ingredients among the first ten were associated with higher glyphosate levels. The first-listed ingredient alone was not a reliable shortcut to the makeup of the whole recipe: in 35 of the 100 products, ingredients from another category outnumbered the first-listed category within the first ten ingredients. The report discusses repeated plant ingredients and “ingredient splitting”; that observation does not establish that ingredient splitting is inherently deceptive or unsafe.
Rank #4
- TEST YOUR PETS FOR 1250+ COMMERCIAL PET FOOD INTOLERANCES & ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITIES. Our 2-in-1 pet sensitivity and intolerance test reveals your dog or cat’s response to 825+ commercial pet food & treat ingredients found in dry kibble, wet/canned food, freeze-dried formulas, air dried formulas and 280+ environmental items, like fabrics, cleaning products, plants, and grasses. You’ll uncover what may be contributing to symptoms like diarrhea, paw biting & licking, skin irritations, and watery eyes.
- HOW DIETARY & ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS IMPACT YOUR PET’S HEALTH. When your pet’s gut microbiome and digestive enzymes struggle to break down certain foods or their body reacts to environmental exposures like fabrics, pollen, or cleaning agents, it can lead to similar symptoms like excessive gas, hot spots, bad breath, and ear discharge.
- EASY 3-STEP PROCESS. Collect 10–15 strands of your pet’s fur from the comfort of home, mail it to our certified lab using the prepaid envelope, and receive results by email or through our mobile app in 4 days. No vet visits required.
- ITEMS CATEGORIZED BY 4 RESPONSE LEVELS. Your pet’s food intolerance and environmental sensitivity test highlights Insignificant, Mild, Moderate, and Severe responses. This helps you create an elimination plan to remove or reduce the highest stressors for a period of time, helping their gut health and body recover naturally.
- TRUSTED BY VETERINARIANS & BACKED BY SCIENCE. Each at-home pet intolerance and sensitivity test is double-pass validated to ensure accuracy. Trusted by over 345,000 pets and people and validated by a 3rd party study, 5Strands makes it easy to find answers from the comfort of your home.
What the results can—and cannot—tell cat owners
Clean Label Project says each product represented one batch. The results therefore cannot show how levels vary between batches of the same product. The organization also says its analysis compares levels across product categories and does not determine whether any specific food will harm a cat. Ryan Babadi, science director for Toxic Free Future and not involved in the investigation, called it “a reasonably conducted analysis.” That assessment does not change the study’s limits: detection frequency is not a dose, and the report does not identify a clinical outcome in cats.
Because many cats eat the same food repeatedly, Hamilton noted, “Most cats eat the same foods nearly every day, with little variation.” She also said, “The contaminants are an ongoing exposure that may accumulate in cats’ bodies over their lifetimes.” Those statements describe a potential exposure concern; the investigation did not measure accumulation or demonstrate harm from any tested product.
Recommended Free Tools
Best Value
- Comprehensive Testing: Screens 395+ food and environmental stressors to help pet parents clearly understand their dog or cat’s potential sensitivities without the guesswork.
- Fast and Convenient: Simple, stress-free at-home sample collection with a prepaid return envelope (US only) and results provided in just 7–10 business days.
- Addresses Various Symptoms: Helps identify potential triggers behind itching, digestive upset, ear infections, paw licking, excessive shedding, and other ongoing mystery symptoms.
- Non-Invasive: Simple hair and saliva testing with no blood draws or clinic visits, allowing pets to stay calm and comfortable throughout the entire testing process.
- Vet & Pet Parent Trusted: Used and approved by veterinarians nationwide, with 100,000+ tests performed to support informed, confident pet care decisions.
Should you change your cat’s food?
The category-level results are not a reason to abruptly replace a food your cat eats or to assume a particular brand is unsafe. Clean Label Project advises owners whose cats eat seafood exclusively to consider varying protein sources, check the full ingredient list for marine ingredients even when fish is absent from the product name, and ask manufacturers whether they regularly test finished products for heavy metals. These are questions to discuss in light of your cat’s needs—not individualized veterinary advice. A complete food your cat will eat remains the priority.
Clean Label Project identifies Bixbi, Freshpet, and Smalls as companies with certified cat foods. That is a narrow certification claim: it does not mean every product from those companies was tested or is contaminant-free.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Clean Label Project, “Heavy Metals Found in Up to 99% of Cat Food Products Tested Across 62 Brands,” October 2, 2026
- Sandee LaMotte, CNN Newsource / KSL.com, “Cat food investigation finds heavy metals, pesticides and plastic chemicals,” October 2, 2026
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
