Lead, arsenic, and other toxic heavy metals are discovered in baby food

Every parent wants their children to have the best possible start in life. This begins with giving them food that will help the developing brains and bodies grow well. We trust baby food companies that they are selling us products with our children’s best interest in mind. Shocking research exposes several popular brands for having high levels of toxic heavy metals in baby food. This is what you need to know. (1)

Popular Baby Brands Exposed For Toxic Levels of Heavy Metals in Baby Food

Healthy Babies, Bright Futures released a report on the high levels of heavy metals in baby food from popular, well-known brands. (1) These brands include (1):

• Nurture Inc. (Happy Family Organics, HappyBABY)
• Beech-Nut Nutrition Company (Beech-Nut)
• Hain Celestial Group, Inc (Earth’s Best Organic)
• Gerber
• Campbell Soup Company (Campbell’s soup, Plum Organics)
• Walmart Inc. (Parent’s Choice)
• Sprout Foods Inc. (Sprout Organic Foods)

The report said that there were high levels of toxic heavy metals found in every jar of baby food they pulled from the shelf. (1) These metals are (1):

• Arsenic
• Lead 
• Cadmium
• Mercury

At high levels, these heavy metals are toxic to the human body. The World Health Organization placed arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury in their list of the top 10 chemicals of concern for babies and children. (2)

Infants under the age of three are particularly high-risk because the amounts that they consume are higher per pound of body weight than older children and adults due to their size. This is incredibly concerning because these children are in their critical developmental years. High levels of these metals can impair brain development that can affect their capabilities for the rest of their lives. (3)

In response to this report, the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy conducted an investigation. They requested internal documents and test results from all of the companies listed above. (4)

The Investigation into Heavy Metals in Baby Food

Nurture, Beech-Nut, Haine, and Gerber responded to the Subcommittee’s request and provided the required documentation. (4) They provided their (4):

• Internal testing policies
• Test results for ingredients and/or finished products
• Documentation about what the companies did with ingredients and/or finished products that exceeded their internal testing limits

They found that all products were tainted with significant amounts of heavy metals, much higher than the FDA-set standards. These are internal company documents, meaning that these companies knowingly sold products that contained these amounts of the toxic compounds. (4)

Walmart, Campbell, and Sprouted Food Organics refused to cooperate. The Subcommittee is concerned that they have even higher levels of heavy metals in their baby food products and are attempting to cover it up. (4)

Why Are There Heavy Metals In Our Foods

Heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, and the rest are natural elements found in soil and can’t be entirely avoided. In fact, many of them are important to support life in trace amounts. At high levels, however, they become toxic to the human body. (4)

The location of the crops can affect how high the heavy metal levels in them are. This can be due to the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and industrial pollution. Currently, the FDA has not set a minimum level for heavy metals in baby food. They set a standard of 100ppb of inorganic arsenic. However, this is much higher than the 10ppb they set for bottled water. This level is far too high to protect babies from the neurological damage the toxic metal can cause. (4)

The Dangers to Babies

According to the Subcommittee, infant exposure to high levels of these heavy metals can (4):

• Causes permanent decreases in IQ
• Diminishes future economic productivity
• Increases risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children
• Endangers infant neurological development and long-term brain function

The subcommittee also found that the Trump administration ignored a secret industry presentation sent from Hain to federal regulators that showed the increased risk of the heavy metals in baby food. (4)

This presentation revealed that Hain and many other manufacturers test individual ingredients for arsenic and other heavy metal levels, but they don’t test the final product. In 100% of Hain products, inorganic arsenic was lower in individual ingredients but ranged from 28% to 93% higher in the finished products. (4)

What Needs to Be Done

The Subcommittee made several recommendations to the FDA and manufacturers to improve baby food quality and safety. (4) These are:

• Mandatory testing: The FDA must require baby food manufacturers to test their finished products for toxic heavy metals, not just their ingredients. (4)
• Labeling: The FDA should require manufacturers to report levels of toxic heavy metals on food labels. (4)
• FDA standards: The FDA should set maximum levels of toxic heavy metals permitted in baby foods. One level for each metal should apply across all baby foods. The level should be set to protect babies against the neurological effects of toxic heavy metals. (4)
• Voluntary phase-out of toxic ingredients: Manufacturers should voluntarily find substitutes for ingredients that are high in toxic heavy metals or phase out products that have high amounts of ingredients that frequently test high in toxic heavy metals, such as rice. (4)

To parents, the Subcommittee suggests being vigilant about reading product labels and avoiding products that contain rice and rice-based ingredients. If the FDA and baby food manufacturers implement the above recommendations, they will make parents’ jobs easier when shopping for their children’s food. (4)

Until those are in place, you may want to avoid buying baby food altogether and make your own at home using organic produce.

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