Heavy metals in shilajit and lion's mane extract: EU limits and our lab results

Heavy metals in food supplements, including shilajit and mushroom extracts, are capped in the EU by Regulation (EU) 2023/915. The maximums are 3.0 mg/kg lead, 1.0 mg/kg cadmium and 0.10 mg/kg mercury, with no maximum for arsenic. Human Pro publishes its measured values, and this article sets each one next to its limit.

Every value below carries its lab, report number and date, so you can check it yourself.

Contents

1. What are the EU limits for heavy metals in food supplements?
2. Does shilajit contain heavy metals?
3. What did the lab measure in our Shilajit batch MSR002?
4. What do heavy-metal results on mushroom supplements show?
5. What does "below the limit of quantification" mean on a lab report?
6. How do you compare a lab result with an EU limit?

What are the EU limits for heavy metals in food supplements?

The EU limits for heavy metals in food supplements are set in Annex I of Commission Regulation (EU) 2023/915. A food supplement may contain at most 3.0 mg/kg lead, 1.0 mg/kg cadmium and 0.10 mg/kg mercury. The regulation sets no maximum for arsenic in food supplements.

Metal	EU maximum for food supplements
Lead	3.0 mg/kg
Cadmium	1.0 mg/kg
Mercury	0.10 mg/kg
Arsenic	No maximum for food supplements

Source: Regulation (EU) 2023/915, Annex I, original text (OJ L 119, 5 May 2023), read on 20 October 2026.

The limits are stated per kilogram of the supplement. They apply to food supplements whatever their form, so a resin, a capsule and a powder share the same lead maximum.

For arsenic, the regulation sets maximums only for certain other foods, not for food supplements. A lab report can still list an arsenic result, as both of ours do. There is simply no EU figure to set it against.

A maximum level is the legal ceiling for placing a food on the EU market. It is not a grade, so read a result as a measurement of one batch or sample, nothing more.

Does shilajit contain heavy metals?

Shilajit can contain heavy metals in measurable amounts, and our own reports show it. In Shilajit batch MSR002, the lab put a number on lead, cadmium and arsenic, while mercury stayed below the level it could measure. Only a report for a named batch tells you the amounts in a given jar.

Human Pro Shilajit resin is purified Himalayan resin, collected at around 4,000 metres in the Indian Himalayas. We do not make Shilajit ourselves. We buy it as finished resin, and it is tested by Eurofins at the source.

That is why a batch report answers the heavy-metal question better than any origin story. A jar sold as "lab tested" or "without heavy metals" tells you little until you can see the lab, the report number, the date and a value for each metal.

What did the lab measure in our Shilajit batch MSR002?

Eurofins Analytical Services India in Gurugram measured four heavy metals in our Shilajit batch MSR002. The results are in report AR-26-KV-009191-03, dated 28 March 2026. The table sets each result next to the EU maximum for food supplements, with the method and its accreditation status.

Six Shilajit batches are published on that page, from SR1800 (July 2024) to MSR002 (March 2026). Earlier batches stay online, so an older jar still matches a published report. An ethylene oxide screening report (AR-26-KV-009012-02) sits on the same page.

What do heavy-metal results on mushroom supplements show?

Heavy-metal results on a mushroom supplement show how much lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic a lab found in one tested sample. For our Lion's Mane, the published heavy-metal values come from one Eurofins report on our extract. That report is dated 31 May 2024.

Our Lion's Mane is grown and extracted on our farm in Flevoland, the Netherlands.

We quote no heavy-metal values for our other mushroom products here. Every certificate we publish, with the lab and the method next to each result, is on the lab results and certificates of analysis page.

For the other checks worth making on a lion's mane product, see our lion's mane buying checklist.

What does "below the limit of quantification" mean on a lab report?

Below the limit of quantification means the lab could not put a reliable number on the metal. The limit of quantification, or LOQ, is the lowest concentration a method can measure with its stated accuracy. A result below it is not zero; the true value lies somewhere under that threshold.

Reports write it in several ways: "below LOQ", "BLQ", "< LOQ", or a less-than sign before the threshold itself. Our Lion's Mane report gives mercury as below 0.002 mg/kg. The Shilajit report states mercury as below the limit of quantification.

The LOQ depends on the method and the lab, so two reports can show different thresholds for the same metal. When a result is below the LOQ, compare the LOQ itself with the EU maximum. A threshold far below the limit tells you more than one close to it.

A limit of detection, or LOD, sits lower still. It is the level at which a lab can tell that a substance is present without being able to put a figure on it.

How do you compare a lab result with an EU limit?

To compare a lab result with an EU limit, check that both use the same unit and describe the same kind of product. EU maximums are given in mg/kg, milligrams per kilogram of product, and most heavy-metal reports use the same unit. Then set each number next to the maximum for that metal.

1. Find the batch or report number and match it to the LOT on your pack.
2. Check the unit. One mg/kg is one part per million; a result in µg/kg is a thousand times smaller.
3. Check what was tested: the finished product, or an extract before it went into capsules.
4. Find the EU maximum for food supplements for lead, cadmium and mercury. Arsenic has none.
5. Check the method and the lab, and whether the report says the method is accredited.

A worked example: lead in Shilajit batch MSR002 is 0.023 mg/kg, and the maximum is 3.0 mg/kg. Both figures are in mg/kg and both refer to a food supplement, so they can be compared directly.

A report that only says "pass" or "compliant" gives you no number to compare. Ask for the values, the method and the lab. A product page that names no batch gives you nothing to match to your pack.

What to do next

To read any of our certificates line by line, open the lab results and certificates of analysis, where each result shows the method and the laboratory.

Already have a jar? Look up your batch in the batch reports for Human Pro Shilajit.

Update history

• 20 October 2026: First published, with the EU maximum levels from Regulation (EU) 2023/915 and heavy-metal values from two Eurofins reports.