Products · Cooking oils & fats · Dr. Bronner’s
Dr. Bronner’s Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil, 14 oz glass jar
Reader ratings
One-ingredient virgin coconut oil in a glass jar at about $0.88 an ounce. Lead Safe Mama’s lab found no lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic, and Mamavation’s 126 ppb of phthalates was the lowest of 12 coconut oils. About 82% saturated fat.
Best for Bakers and cooks who want coconut oil for medium-heat cooking, buy glass, and want one that two independent testers found clean of metals and low in phthalates.
- Our rating
- Good (4.4 of 5)
- Price range
- Budget
- Size
- 14 fl oz (414 mL) glass jar with a gold metal lid; the maker also sells a 30 fl oz (887 mL) glass jar at $22.69
- Made in
- Sri Lanka, per the product page (the brand’s general coconut oil page also names Samoa and Kenya)
approx. $12.29 for 14 oz ($0.88 an ounce); the 30 oz size is $22.69
See it on Dr. Bronner’s’s site → (opens in a new tab)We are not affiliated with Dr. Bronner’s. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
Also sold at iHerb ($13.51 for 14 fl oz), Amazon ($14.99 for 14 oz) .
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How we evaluated it
How it scores Our rating, metric by metric
- Ingredients & processing 35% of the rating 5 of 5
One ingredient, expeller-pressed from dried coconuts, with nothing added, per the product page.
- Independent testing 25% of the rating 4 of 5
Two independent tests: no lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic above Purity Laboratories’ limits (5 to 10 ppb) for Lead Safe Mama, and the lowest phthalates of 12 coconut oils (126 ppb, not zero). No pesticide or purity results.
- Packaging 15% of the rating 4 of 5
A glass jar with a gold metal lid, per the maker’s photos of both sizes. The glass is clear, not light-blocking, and the lid liner is not stated.
- Trust 10% of the rating 4 of 5
No recalls or FDA actions found, and no Prop 65 notice for the oil (one 2023 notice covers a chocolate bar). Regenerative Organic Certified is confirmed in the certifier’s directory; USDA Organic and Fair Trade are the maker’s statement, as we could not open those listings.
- Value 15% of the rating 4 of 5
$12.29 for 14 oz at the maker is about $0.88 an ounce, a little above Nutiva’s $0.75 list price for the same size.
The rating, 4.4 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank cooking oils & fats and our standard.
Where to buy Stores and the prices we saw
- iHerb (opens in a new tab) approx. $13.51 for 14 fl oz. In stock on 2026-11-03, best by 10/2027. iHerb sells it as “Virgin Coconut Oil, Whole Kernel” and lists the ingredient as organic unrefined virgin coconut oil.
- Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $14.99 for 14 oz. Sold by Dr. Bronner’s and shipped by Amazon on 2026-11-03. The page showed no featured offer; a second seller, Next Vitality, asked $18.45. The 30 fl oz jar was $18.99 on Amazon.
Prices as we saw them on November 3, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.
What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order
- Virgin coconut oil (regenerative organic certified, certified Fair Trade ingredient)
Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it
- Independent Lead Safe Mama, using Purity Laboratories, Inc. (Lake Oswego, Oregon); the site earns affiliate income on Amazon sales and crowd-funds its tests August 2025
Tested Dr. Bronner’s Whole Kernel Regenerative Organic Certified Virgin Coconut Oil, the brown-label jar, by ICP-MS (tested 27 August 2025, post of 16 September). Results: arsenic below 10 ppb, and cadmium, lead and mercury below 5 ppb each, all reported as non-detect. At those limits a 14 g tablespoon would hold under 0.07 µg of lead and under 0.14 µg of arsenic, against California’s Prop 65 level of 0.5 µg of lead a day. The lot number on the report is Lead Safe Mama’s own, and the post says it tested the product without a funding campaign and that the White Kernel version tested clean in January 2025. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Independent Mamavation (EPA-certified lab, not named; the site earns affiliate income on Amazon sales) November 2024
Found 126 ppb of total phthalates in “Dr. Bronner’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil”, the lowest of 12 coconut oils; the others ran from 135 to 1,506 ppb. Every oil had some. The public article gives only the total, with no size or kernel type. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Who paid, and why it matters
- Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
- Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
- Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.
A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.
What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found
- Does it contain lead or other heavy metals?
- Not that Lead Safe Mama’s lab (opens in a new tab) could detect: Purity Laboratories reported arsenic below 10 ppb and cadmium, lead and mercury below 5 ppb in the Whole Kernel oil (tested August 2025), and the White Kernel oil was non-detect in January 2025. That puts a 14 g tablespoon under 0.07 µg of lead, a seventh of the 0.5 µg Prop 65 daily level. The post says it was not sure the two kernel oils are different products. It is one jar, and the site earns affiliate income from the Amazon link in its post.
- Does it contain phthalates?
- Some, at the lowest level Mamavation found. Its lab reported 126 ppb of total phthalates (opens in a new tab), against 387 ppb in Nutiva’s coconut oil and 1,506 ppb at the top. All 12 coconut oils tested had some, and the public article gives totals only. Our phthalates guide explains why they matter. Mamavation bought one jar and the product name carries no size, so we cannot tie the result to this jar.
- Is coconut oil good for your heart?
- Probably not a good choice for everyday use. Our coconut oil guide says it raises LDL cholesterol more than olive, safflower or sunflower oil, and the American Heart Association’s 2017 advisory recommends against it, though some lipid researchers dispute that. See also is saturated fat bad for your heart.
- What does “Regenerative Organic Certified” mean, and who checks it?
- The certifier (opens in a new tab) describes standards for soil health, animal welfare and farmworker fairness, and says certified products for processing must also hold USDA Organic or an equivalent. Dr. Bronner’s says the oil carries the mark (Silver level, per the label), USDA Organic and Fair Trade. The certifier’s product directory (opens in a new tab) lists Dr. Bronner’s Whole Virgin Coconut Oil, which confirms that mark. We could not open USDA’s organic or the fair trade listings, so those stay the maker’s statements. None of them is a test of the jar for contaminants.
- Is it really from small farms in Sri Lanka?
- The maker says its sister company in Sri Lanka works with the farmers, and the page names Sri Lanka, with Samoa and Kenya on the brand’s general page. It names no farm or mill, and we found no independent check of where a given jar’s coconuts came from.
- Is the jar plastic-free?
- Both the 14 oz and the 30 oz jars are glass with a gold metal lid in the maker’s photos. The lid liner is not stated.
- Any recalls, lawsuits or warnings?
- None for the oil. California’s Prop 65 search lists one notice for Dr. Bronner’s, filed in 2023 over mercury in a chocolate bar. openFDA’s food enforcement search has no entry for the company, searched 2 Nov 2026.
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- One ingredient: virgin coconut oil, expeller-pressed from dried coconuts, with nothing added, per the product page.
- Two independent tests. Lead Safe Mama’s lab (Purity Laboratories) found lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic below its limits in the Whole Kernel oil (August 2025), and Mamavation’s lab found 126 ppb of phthalates, the lowest of 12 coconut oils.
- A glass jar with a metal lid at about $0.88 an ounce, among the cheapest fats we list.
- The maker states USDA Organic, Regenerative Organic Certified and Fair Trade, and says its sister company in Sri Lanka works with the farmers.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- Phthalates were found: 126 ppb is the lowest of 12 coconut oils, not zero. Each tester bought one jar, and Mamavation’s product name carries no size.
- It is about 82% saturated fat. Our guide says coconut oil raises LDL more than olive or sunflower oil, so use small amounts for baking and medium heat.
- The glass is clear, so it does not block light, and the lid liner is not stated.
- We confirmed the Regenerative Organic Certified listing but could not open USDA’s organic or the fair trade listings, and no pesticide or identity results are published.
What to know Details worth knowing first
Dr. Bronner’s coconut oil has one ingredient, comes in a glass jar, and costs about 88 cents an ounce. We list it because two independent testers found it clean where it counts most. Lead Safe Mama’s lab found no lead, cadmium, mercury or arsenic, and Mamavation’s lab found less phthalate in it than in any of the 11 other coconut oils: 126 ppb against 387 for Nutiva and 1,506 at the top. The phthalate result is low, not clean, and Mamavation found some in every coconut oil it tested.
The label gives you a few things to rely on and a few to treat as the maker’s word. It says expeller-pressed, organic, Regenerative Organic Certified and Fair Trade. Those describe how the coconuts were grown and pressed, and none of them is a lab test of the jar, so we have not scored them as one. Each tester bought one jar, and we could not tie Mamavation’s result to this exact size.
Coconut oil is mostly saturated fat. Our coconut oil guide says it raises LDL cholesterol more than olive or sunflower oil, so use it in small amounts for baking and medium-heat cooking, and use extra virgin olive oil most of the time. For high heat, see our smoke point guide.
What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| Purity you can check Verified | Lead Safe Mama’s lab (Purity Laboratories) found lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic below its limits, and Mamavation’s lab found 126 ppb of phthalates. The maker says USDA Organic, Regenerative Organic Certified and Fair Trade; the certifier’s directory lists the oil, and we could not open the other two listings. No pesticide or identity results. |
| Fat profile stated, with omega-6 Not verified | Not stated on the product page we read. Coconut oil is roughly 82% saturated fat with very little omega-6, per our coconut oil guide. |
| Made without solvents Maker’s claim | “Expeller-pressed from carefully dried coconuts”, per the product page. No hexane is mentioned. |
| Packaging that blocks light, with a date Maker’s claim | A clear glass jar with a metal lid in the maker’s photo, so it does not block light. We did not see a date. |
| A traceable source Maker’s claim | Sri Lanka, with the maker’s sister company named; no farm or mill is named. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- Dr. Bronner’s: Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil, product page. Maker’s page. 14 oz $12.29 and 30 oz $22.69 on 2026-11-02 and 2026-11-03; ingredient line, expeller-pressed, Sri Lanka and certification tags. The product photos show glass jars with gold metal lids, and the label carries the USDA Organic seal, the Regenerative Organic Certified Silver mark and a Certified Fair Trade banner. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Lead Safe Mama: Dr. Bronner’s Organic Whole Kernel Virgin Coconut Oil, heavy metals (16 September 2025). Test report. Non-detect for lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic by Purity Laboratories (case 2508384, completed 28 August 2025); the post was updated 26 April 2026. The site earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Mamavation: coconut oils tested for toxic phthalates. Test report. Updated through 2025; Dr. Bronner’s result added November 2024. The site earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Regenerative Organic Alliance. Independent source. The certifier’s own description of the standard. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Regenerative Organic Alliance: product directory. Certifier or regulator listing. Lists Dr. Bronner’s “Whole Virgin Coconut Oil” and “White Virgin Coconut Oil”, checked 2026-11-03. We could not open USDA’s organic or the fair trade listings. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- iHerb: Dr. Bronner’s Virgin Coconut Oil, Whole Kernel, 14 fl oz. Independent source. $13.51, in stock, best by 10/2027, seen 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Amazon: Dr. Bronner’s Organic Virgin Coconut Oil, Whole Kernel, 14 oz. Independent source. Sold by Dr. Bronner’s and shipped by Amazon at $14.99 on 2026-11-03, with a second offer at $18.45 from Next Vitality. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched by alleged violator for “Bronner” on 2026-11-02 and 2026-11-03: one notice, AG 2023-01918, filed 3 July 2023 for mercury in Dr. Bronner’s All-One Salted Dark Chocolate. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- openFDA: food enforcement reports. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched 2026-11-02 and 2026-11-03 for the recalling firm and for Dr. Bronner’s products: no entry. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Alternatives Other options to compare
- Nutiva Organic Virgin Coconut Oil A similar glass-jar virgin coconut oil, a little cheaper per ounce, with 387 ppb of phthalates at Mamavation and no metals result.
- Marianne’s Harvest Classic Avocado Oil For high heat, with mostly monounsaturated fat and an independent purity test.