Dietary Supplements (Human): HMTc Program Manual

Scope and method

This manual states how Category 16 Dietary Supplements (Human) is certified for metal safety. It does not certify efficacy, legality, or approval status. Inorganic arsenic publishes the number already on the live standard. That number does not replace total arsenic. Methylmercury is capped at total mercury and tested on the program retest schedule. It does not carry a separate number, and it never replaces the parent. Hexavalent chromium is capped at total chromium and tested on the program retest schedule. It does not carry a separate number, and it never replaces the parent. Every figure in the matrix is read from the live standard record. Nothing in this manual invents a ceiling.

Method: government-limit default (Method v2.0). Why Method v1 was retired is on the method page. The twenty-four live standards remain the derivation of each cell. A product is certified only at or below 100% of every published ceiling. The v1 PDF carries the program rules and the standards register, including each house DOI.

Master limit matrix

All values are ppb (µg/kg), in the row's basis. Click any subcategory for its derivation. A dash is a species capped at its parent total (methylmercury at total mercury, hexavalent chromium at total chromium) and tested on the program retest schedule. It is not an empty cell and not an invented number.

Subcategory	Pb	iAs	tAs	Hg	MeHg	Cd	Cr-VI	Ni	Sn	Al	Cr	Basis
Oral solids: tablets/caplets	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral solids: capsules	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral solids: softgels/gelcaps	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral solids: gummies/chewables	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral solids: lozenges	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral solids: powders (bulk tubs, sachets, stick packs)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral solids: effervescent tablets	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Oral liquids: tinctures/drops	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as consumed
Oral liquids: syrups	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as consumed
Oral liquids: liquid shots	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as consumed
Oral liquids: droppers	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as consumed
Food-like forms: teas (when labeled as supplement)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Food-like forms: bars (when labeled as supplement)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: vitamin/mineral (single, multi-mineral, multi-vitamin/mineral)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: botanicals/herbs/traditional formulas	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: amino acids & isolates	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: enzymes	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: live microbials/probiotics	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: algae/seaweed-based	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: protein/collagen powders	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: oil-based supplements (fish oil/omega-3 and similar)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: clay/mineral/earth-derived (bentonite, diatomaceous earth, zeolite, shilajit)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: mushroom/fungal extracts (lion's mane, reishi, cordyceps, chaga)	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold
Ingredient class: greens/superfood blends	10	10	50	4	—	5	—	100	5000	500	1000	as sold

Every claim analyte is equal at the gate. A product is certified only when every published limit is met at or below 100% of its government floor or disclosed read-across. An exceedance on any metal enters Remediation and carries no mark.

Risk Flag

Certification is decided on the product's own tested lot against the published ceiling. The limit is that ceiling on the live standard. Occurrence data do not set it. An individual lot can still exceed a limit.

See the cross-category summary, and the the child eats the adult's supplement.

About this edition

Standards are living, versioned documents; each subcategory page carries its own version history and dated change log. This is the current web edition. The Manual v1 PDF is downloadable from the rail. Its program text and standards register match this page. The live subcategory pages remain the derivation of each cell. The manual DOI is not deposited yet.

The literature baseline underlying these certification limits is maintained independently at the Heavy Metal Index. This certification standard applies those findings; the two are kept editorially separate by design.