Would you like to know if your eggs were contaminated with banned pesticide DDT? We tested Vital Farms eggs and have some results for you. You’ve trusted Mamavation to bring you topics like best & worst air purifiers, best & worst organic mattresses, & best & worst collagen, now join us as we bring you the test results of one organic egg company–Vital Farms.
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DDT In Eggs Series on Mamavation
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an insecticide and belongs to a class of pesticides known as organochlorides. DDT is a synthetic chemical compound that doesn’t occur in nature and is a colorless, crystalline solid.
DDT has been banned since 1972 because of human health and environmental concerns, especially having been blamed for killing off the iconic American Bald Eagle population and thinning out their eggshells which caused the babies to collapse within the eggs killing them. Since DDT has been banned in 1972, the American Bald Eagle population has sprung back.
Today people are mostly exposed to DDT as an accidental contaminant from soil exposure or from food. Because DDT takes a very long time to break down in the soil, it’s found all over the United States.
DDT can build up in the fatty tissues of animals and accumulate over time. Therefore, this bioaccumulation can show up in animal products that contain high amounts of fat like eggs, milk, meat, and cheese.
Finding DDT in the soil at my own home prompted me to test my backyard eggs. There I found DDT in the eggs, which my family was consuming for about 6 years.
And now because the USDA organic standards does not include testing the soil for DDT, I’m testing eggs I find at the supermarket to ensure my family isn’t getting anymore DDT and I’m sharing that information with you here.
Results of DDT on Vital Farms Eggs
Using method gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS ) Vital Farms eggs were tested in a lab certified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on August 25th, 2020 and the results were all non-detect, meaning if there is DDT in the eggs, it’s lower than the detection level of 0.010 ppb.
- Chlorpyrifos < 0.010ppb –Non-Detect
- DDD-pp+DDT-op < 0.010ppb — Non-Detect
- DDE-p,p < 0.010ppb — Non-Detect
- DDT (Sum) * < 0.010ppb — Non-Detect
- DDT-p,p < 0.010ppb — Non-Detect
This is good news for Vital Farms since we are unsure if they are requiring chicken farmers to test the soil for DDT prior to accepting eggs from farms. Stone Leaf farm, which is the farm we got results from is clear from DDT.
DDT–Why I’m Keeping My Backyard Chickens But Throwing All My Eggs Out
Did you test their organic eggs or the conventional ones? You have a photo of the conventional ones.
Great article; I get all my eggs at the farmers’ market and usually get local organic Duck eggs. I will have to test I guess-
That’s a really good lab to use!
We will definitely contribute to more research! Would love to know what you find out about arsenic poisoning, as we both have high levels as detected in a hair analysis. Major source is chicken feed and rice…even organic. Mostly because of cotton growers.
Thanks Laura! Arsenic testing…now I’ve haven’t considered that but I can look into it.
I hope they are selling these in Bronx, New York. I will do the research.
Make sure to report back on what organic eggs they have over there. I may need help shipping 😉
YAY! I LOVE Vital Farms! Happy chickens! My husband eats a hard boiled egg every day! I love eggs but they don’t agree with my stomach. BOOO
Pasture raised is becoming more popular so more brands to test!
Are vital eggs the only brand of eggs you tested and did you test all varieties or just the organic ones. BTW those are my favorite eggs!
I only tested the organic ones. I’m only likely to test organic for now because those are the people who would care about this and that’s what I personally consume. But if we get lots of interest in testing non-organic, I’m open to it.
I’ve just sent off another egg brand and some organic butter….so stay tuned!
Have you checked if they have multiple farms? Could possibly even be in different states…