So, I did a thing, tested popular commercial foods for pesticide content.

[Kapidolo Farms]

I tested four and will only report here favorable findings. I had a legitimate lab do the testing, that's what they do - test for chemical compound content and can verify the absence or presence of pesticides. It's all real deal testing, if the product manufacture had products tested and they indicated pesticides, then they would be in danger of a review of their food manufacturing processes and ingredient sources. I'm not a food chemist or attorney for food manufactures. But I am curious and have wanted to see if some of what I sell, intend to sell or even advocate against are pesticide free. Your welcome.

I bought the products in original packaging, sampled them to two ounce portions and turned them into the lab in food approved packaging, double zipper zip lock bags just like what I use for Kapidolo Farms larger portions. The exact manufacturer lot numbers etc were used to track each sample.

The new Hikaru Mulberrific, Mazuri LS tortoise diet, and ZooMed natural forest tortoise diet are tested as pesticide free.

I won't sell the Mazuri products because, well, the're just are NOT as good as the ZooMed - IMO and others' opinions. Soon I will sell the Hikari Mulberrific, I'll repackage bulk into smaller portions, so you can get more product for less $. It is an expensive food though.

I have two 7.7 ounce bags of the Mulberrific food for consumer testing.

Respond here that you will post a review and I'll send one each to two existing Kapidolo Farms customers, totally free of cost. But you got to post your experience with it here in this thread after you openly commit to posting a review.

If you don't follow these simple asks then you don't get the sample. I know, I know, I'm such a harda$$.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

That's good to see that those foods are pesticide free. Thanks for testing them and sharing that with us!

Sure, I'll post a review!

I'm a new/existing customer and recently bought testudo munch. Phil the Marginated tortoise seems to like it so far. I'm still playing around with different combos but he seems to not mind it on top of his grocery store food.

 

[Ink]

I'll try it if the post is on the forum. I have purchased a lot from you. Thank you

 

[Yvonne G]

I'd be willing to give it a try and post a review.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

This is the actual report, if you're interested. Hikari Mulberiffic

 

[jsheffield]

I'd happily try out the food and post a review.

Jamie

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

@MarginatedMooney and @Ink responded first and the samples are on the way.

 

[Maro2Bear]

Thanks for the info. Good to hear that pesticides were not detected in the selection you chose.

Ive been feeding regular Mazuri to our Sully for years now (just during Winter). What ZOOMED tortoise pellets do you recommend for Sulcatas?

 

[RosemaryDW]

No need for a sample but interested to learn more about the Mulberrific item.

 

[Shelled]

So one of the four you tested wasn't pesticide free? I can understand you might not want to post that due to fear of legal issues, but you also allow them, knowingly now, to continue selling a product which isn't pest free. How can we avoid that product?

 

[Ink]

I fed both tortoises just the pellets alone before they ate today. I followed the directions on the package and soaked them for 5 minutes. The pellets are very small.

My 17 years old leopard did eat the pellets once he found them on the slate.

My rescued 10ish(?) Eastern Hermann devoured the pellets. If he could have licked the slate, he would have done it.

I did offer a few to my desert box turtle 6 months old, however he ate 1. Yes, I counted the pellets before I gave them to him. He is still in his picky eating stage.

I then fed all of them their greens, with the pellets on top. Both tortoises ate them again. My desert box turtle just wanted his crickets. I wish the pellets were larger in size for the bigger tortoises.
Thank you @Kapidolo Farms for letting my tortoises and turtle try this food. I will buy this product.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Today I received the Hikari Mulberific Delite pellets in the mail (that was quick! Thank you @Kapidolo Farms!) so I decided to go ahead and feed some to Phil, my 2 year old Marginated tortoise, and post my review here.

They were well packaged in a recloseable bag. Upon opening the bag, my first impression was that the size of these pellets is really small. I don't think they would last long for a large tortoise or for a large group of tortoises since I think you would need an enormous amount of them. This bag would be fine for a single medium or small-sized tortoise such as Phil however.

Looking at the ingredients, I like that the top ingredient is mulberry leaf meal, there's no corn starch, and they have probiotics. They seem to be a healthy pellet option and different compared to other commercial pellets.

I only fed him a few pellets for now just to see if he would like them.
I followed the instructions on the package and soaked them for 5 minutes. They definitely got a bit bigger and heavier after soaking. The bag claims they get 4x heavier and that's probably true. They got soft but they stayed intact and didn't turn to mush. I appreciate that they only take 5 minutes to soak.

I drained the water out and set them down in front of Phil in the terra cotta saucer I soaked them in. It didn't take him long to notice them; He climbed up into the saucer and ate them quickly. He definitely liked them and was looking for more after he finished. They get two tortoise claws up from Phil.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

My wife runs an instagram account for Phil and she made an Instagram reel about this here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/Conwc5ujmIQ/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

 

[Tom]

That is very telling that they ate them the first time they saw them. That is pretty unusual. Thank you for the review.

 

[Ink]

Update: My desert box turtle ate most of the pellets that I gave him today. I put them on top of his egg, strawberry, and mealworms. They are are great size for him at 52 grams. Thank you again.

 

[Kapidolo Farms]

So one of the four you tested wasn't pesticide free? I can understand you might not want to post that due to fear of legal issues, but you also allow them, knowingly now, to continue selling a product which isn't pest free. How can we avoid that product?

Yeah, that's the great thing about free will, you are welcome to test products you are considering at any time. The product that was not completely free of pesticide residue tested, had these compounds ;

Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) is a pale yellow to light brown liquid[1] organic compound used as a synergist component of pesticide formulations. That is, despite having no pesticidal activity of its own, it enhances the potency of certain pesticides such as carbamates, pyrethrins, pyrethroids, and rotenone.[2] It is a semisynthetic derivative of safrole.[3]
and
Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide.[3][4] As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice.[5] It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion.[3] As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects that touch them.[4]
These two compound descriptions are from Wiki pages.

These are in all of our food web. No reason to consider these something to prevent you from buying a food. The amounts were just at the level of quantification. Even washed fresh produce (conventional grown) may have this much still after washing.

Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower (pyrethrins). Most pesticides used in organic farming are natural (or non-synthetic), which the USDA defines as substances that have been produced or extracted from a natural source, like plants or other living organisms. The only chemical changes in natural pesticides come from naturally-occurring processes such as composting, fermentation, heating, or enzymatic digestion. So, permethrin is a synthetic version of 'natural - as found in nature' compound - so couldn't be considered organic. But the food I tested was not labeled organic.
I applaud you, if you only used organic, I strive for that too. But sometimes my tortoises eat conventional grown crops. What do you do for your tortoises' food sources? What have you had tested? What are those results?

 

[Shelled]

So levels were very low, that's good to hear. I haven't tested what I feed. I feed a mix of self-grown (in season, lengthened with the aid of a greenhouse), human food produce, and picked in fields (I avoid fields or areas near them which are used for crops).

 

[EricW]

Yeah, that's the great thing about free will, you are welcome to test products you are considering at any time. The product that was not completely free of pesticide residue tested, had these compounds ;

Piperonyl butoxide (PBO) is a pale yellow to light brown liquid[1] organic compound used as a synergist component of pesticide formulations. That is, despite having no pesticidal activity of its own, it enhances the potency of certain pesticides such as carbamates, pyrethrins, pyrethroids, and rotenone.[2] It is a semisynthetic derivative of safrole.[3]
and
Permethrin is a medication and an insecticide.[3][4] As a medication, it is used to treat scabies and lice.[5] It is applied to the skin as a cream or lotion.[3] As an insecticide, it can be sprayed onto clothing or mosquito nets to kill the insects that touch them.[4]
These two compound descriptions are from Wiki pages.

These are in all of our food web. No reason to consider these something to prevent you from buying a food. The amounts were just at the level of quantification. Even washed fresh produce (conventional grown) may have this much still after washing.

Permethrin is an insecticide in the pyrethroid family. Pyrethroids are synthetic chemicals that act like natural extracts from the chrysanthemum flower (pyrethrins). Most pesticides used in organic farming are natural (or non-synthetic), which the USDA defines as substances that have been produced or extracted from a natural source, like plants or other living organisms. The only chemical changes in natural pesticides come from naturally-occurring processes such as composting, fermentation, heating, or enzymatic digestion. So, permethrin is a synthetic version of 'natural - as found in nature' compound - so couldn't be considered organic. But the food I tested was not labeled organic.
I applaud you, if you only used organic, I strive for that too. But sometimes my tortoises eat conventional grown crops. What do you do for your tortoises' food sources? What have you had tested? What are those results?

Organic has it's challenges as well and less documented. Labeled "organic," does not mean it is safe. Copper for example can be used in excess and thus the foods can have high copper levels. Seaweed extract, depending on source, can be high in toxic heavy metals and if used as a fertilizer, can lead to produce heavy in these metals.

I am by no means saying organic is bad or trying to sway anyone to not buy organic, but there are risks there as well. Especially since the "natural" for can be used, just not the "synthetic" form, which it is all chemistry, it is all the same. No different than a water molecule take from a river vs. that created in a lab.

 

[PollyAda]

I was interested to try the Hikari Mulberific Delite pellets and was able to source some in the UK (£16.99 for 220g was the best price I could find). Similar to Ink, one of my 6 month old Ibera Greeks showed no hesitation and scoffed the soaked pellets immediately. The other did eat a few in the first sitting but not with quite as much enthusiasm. Overall a really positive reaction to a new food from both torts, so I would say it was money well spent.

 

[MarginatedMooney]

Organic has it's challenges as well and less documented. Labeled "organic," does not mean it is safe. Copper for example can be used in excess and thus the foods can have high copper levels. Seaweed extract, depending on source, can be high in toxic heavy metals and if used as a fertilizer, can lead to produce heavy in these metals.

I am by no means saying organic is bad or trying to sway anyone to not buy organic, but there are risks there as well. Especially since the "natural" for can be used, just not the "synthetic" form, which it is all chemistry, it is all the same. No different than a water molecule take from a river vs. that created in a lab.

Yes, it's true that organic farming uses heavy metal-based pesticides like copper sulfate, possibly at higher concentrations than conventional synthetic pesticides and there probably are residual heavy metals. However, I suspect it's not any more dangerous than residual conventional pesticides and I wouldn't say either is unsafe. I would say for both organic and conventional, the residue is there, but it's so low that it's harmless to humans.

What I wonder about is if tortoises, especially smaller ones, are more sensitive to residual chemicals than humans are. I haven't seen any data about that, so I have no idea. But this is also another reason why feeding only grocery store food year round may not be the best.

I too would not want to dissuade anyone from buying organic. I myself buy organic food fairly often. It's just that I feel like the reasoning for buying organic food is often misguided and the way it's marketed is borderline false advertising.