amber
Yellow 5
Implicated in childhood hyperactivity (Southampton study) and MCAS reactions.
Low Tox Gear · Scanner
The elf on the shelf
Is Kellogg's The elf on the shelf low tox? Our scanner flagged 5 ingredients (5 in the caution tier) on its published label, screened against our 237 source-cited chemical rules.
5 caution
5 ingredients flagged
What we flagged
amber
Yellow 6
Hyperactivity link in childhood studies; warnings required in EU.
amber
Red 40
Implicated in childhood hyperactivity (Southampton study). Banned in some EU member states.
amber
Blue 1
Coal-tar derived dye; absorbed through compromised gut barrier.
amber
BHT
Endocrine concerns at high exposure levels.
Full ingredients (from label)
corn floursugarwhole grain yellow corn flourdegerminated yellow corn floursugarenriched flourniacinreduced ironvitamin B1vitamin B2folic acidcorn syrupmarshmallowssugarcorn syrupmodified food starchgelatinnatural flavorcontains less than 2% of corn starchdextroseyellow 5yellow 6red 40blue 1yellow 6yellow 5blue 1BHTniacinamidevitamin B6vitamin B2vitamin B1vitamin B12vitamin D3calcium pantothenatevitamin B6 hydrochloridefolic acidvitamin B12
How this analysis is generated
Each ingredient on this product's published label is matched against our 237 source-cited chemical rules, each documenting a concern from peer-reviewed research and regulatory sources. Severity tiers:
- Avoid (red) — banned or restricted in the EU, UK or Canada but still legal in the US, IARC-listed, or strong contact-allergen evidence.
- Caution (amber) — regulatory caution, contamination risk, or condition-specific irritant.
- Mild (green) — low concern but commonly avoided in low-tox formulations.
Each flag links to its primary chemical-level source, and each condition pill links to a PubMed-indexed paper that discusses the chemical class in the context of that condition. Every citation is a real peer-reviewed paper — we don't link to Wikipedia or PubMed search pages. Some pairs use a topically-broad paper (e.g. a fragrance-allergen patch-test review) rather than a single-pair study where the literature is thin. The full evidence chain (chemical → mechanism → condition → paper) is one click away.
This is automated analysis of a published label, not medical advice — always verify the label yourself before changing products. Methodology and source list at scan.lowtoxgear.com.