Clean Drinking: How to Avoid Heavy Metals in Alcohol.
Health-conscious drinkers are increasingly asking what is really in their glass. It’s well known that alcohol carries calories and, well alcohol; but few stop to think about the trace elements that come along for the ride. Among these are heavy metals — compounds that, in the wrong amounts, pose very real risks.
TLDR: Heavy metals are found in alcohol. Undisturbed Mead tested pure.
Recent independent testing by Hill Labs confirmed that Undisturbed mead contain no detectable heavy metals (<0.10 mg/kg). This makes them stand apart from wine, beer, and cider, which consistently show measurable levels.
| Drink | Total Heavy Metals | Range (µg/L) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wine | 2–20 mg/L | 2,000–20,000 | Includes iron, manganese, zinc, copper, lead, cadmium, arsenic |
| Beer | 1–10 mg/L | 1,000–10,000 | Mostly iron, zinc, copper; trace lead and cadmium |
| Cider | 1–15 mg/L | 1,000–15,000 | Similar to wine; depends on fruit and soil source |
| RTDs (Ready-to-drink) | 1–5 mg/L | 1,000–5,000 | Metals from water, flavour additives, and aluminium cans |
| Undisturbed Mead | <0.10 mg/kg | <100 | Independent lab testing: no detectable heavy metals |
Why Heavy Metals Matter
Heavy metals include elements such as lead, cadmium, and arsenic. Some, like iron, manganese, and zinc, are essential nutrients in trace amounts. But even the essential ones can cause harm when they accumulate in higher concentrations.
Lead is linked to neurological damage and cardiovascular problems.
Cadmium accumulates in the kidneys and bones, leading to long-term organ stress.
Arsenic is classified as a carcinogen, associated with cancers of the skin, bladder, and lungs.
Excess iron and manganese drive oxidative stress and can damage organs.
The problem is that heavy metals don’t flush out of the body quickly. They build up over time, making regular exposure a concern even at low levels.
How They Get Into Drinks
In wine and beer, metals can be introduced at many stages: from the soil where grapes, grains, and fruits are grown, to the pipes and tanks they move through, to the filtration materials used in processing. Studies regularly find:
Wine containing between 2–20 mg/L total heavy metals (2,000–20,000 µg/L).
Beer carrying 1–10 mg/L (1,000–10,000 µg/L).
These levels are generally within legal limits, but they are still measurable and contribute to cumulative intake.
What the Lab Found in Our Mead
By contrast, testing of our Mānuka mead revealed no detectable heavy metals at a threshold of 0.10 mg/kg (~100 µg/L). That means every major metal tested — including lead, cadmium, arsenic, iron, copper, manganese, and zinc — was below detection.
To put this in context, our result is at least 10x to 200x cleaner than the typical totals reported for wine and beer.
Why Mead Is Different
The purity of our meads is not accidental. It reflects three things:
The pristine New Zealand landscapes where our bees forage, far from heavy industry and contaminated soils.
The raw material itself — honey, unlike grapes or grains, is gathered from nectar that bees concentrate rather than pressed from bulk crops.
The small-batch processes we follow, avoiding filtration methods known to introduce contaminants.
The result is a drink that doesn’t just taste pure. It is pure, and now we can prove it.
What This Means for the Health-Conscious Drinker
No alcoholic drink can be classed as healthy in absolute terms. But if you are choosing carefully, there are differences worth paying attention to. Wine, beer, and cider bring with them measurable levels of heavy metals. Undisturbed mead does not.
References
Wilkes, E. (2018). Heavy metals in wine: sources and management. Australian Wine Research Institute, Technical Review No. 233. Available at: www.awri.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Technical_Review_Issue_233_Wilkes.pdf
Waterhouse Lab, University of California Davis. What’s in Wine? Minerals. UC Davis Department of Viticulture and Enology. Available at: www.waterhouse.ucdavis.edu/whats-in-wine/minerals
Kabinda, M.M., et al. (2024). Health risk assessment of toxic metals through the consumption of beers from Tanzania. Heliyon, 10(2): e24383. Available at: www.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24383
