Heavy Metals Still Problem for Baby Food Brands Five Years Later

Heavy metals in baby foods discovered through a study conducted five years ago still exist in some of the same brands retested in 2023, Consumer Reports found in a study published Tuesday.

The nonprofit consumer organization’s previous test in 2018 found 33 of 50 baby food products had combined exposure from three heavy metals—arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Some of those metals are still found in certain products and brands years later.

The report found that major baby food brands such as Earth’s Best Organic, Gerber, and Hot Kid continue to see different levels of certain heavy metals in their products, with some brands seeing a rise or drop in levels over the years.

Overall risks remain high for children, despite pressure on manufacturers to create healthier baby foods, the report said. Consumption of heavy metals can lower children’s IQs and cause developmental problems. Foods that pose the biggest risk are made with rice, sweet potatoes, and carrots, mainly due to the way they’re grown.

“One would expect that the manufacturers would have been able to make these products safer, cleaner, etc.,” James E. Rogers, director of food safety research and testing at Consumer Reports, said in an interview. “As the report states, for three of the products, we had to recommend even less consumption than we did last time. So it’s our stance that the level of these dangerous heavy metals remains unacceptably high.”

Bloomberg Law published an investigation in January that found all but one of 33 baby food products purchased in stores and online contained two of three heavy metals. Weeks after Bloomberg Law’s findings, the Food and Drug Administration proposed action levels for lead in baby foods as part of its Closer to Zero action plan.

The administration still has not finalized deadlines for setting limit guidelines. Lawmakers also pressured the administration to take more action earlier this year, and revived pressure on the agency after it quietly removed deadlines for setting guidelines on heavy metals in baby food from its website.

The FDA started Closer to Zero in April 2021 to establish guidelines for toxic metals in foods consumed by babies and young children, following pressure from Congress and interest groups. The FDA has said Closer to Zero is a “living” plan and that the goal dates “are estimates based on the current state of evolving science, the agency’s analysis of relevant data, and the regulatory process for developing and issuing guidance to industry.”

Serving Sizes Recommendations

Consumer Reports’ food safety experts recommended serving sizes for baby foods, using data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. The baby foods that improved in serving sizes from 2018, meaning the overall heavy metal levels lowered, were Earth’s Best Organic and Happy Baby Organics. Beech-Nut had no changes in serving size recommendations from CR, and Gerber and Hot Kid saw serving size recommendations lowered 2023.

The study also recommended limiting the intake of apple juice and grape juice due to high levels of inorganic arsenic and lead found in them compared with other fruit juices. The FDA finalized limits for inorganic arsenic in apple juices to not exceed 10 parts per billion in June—nearly a decade after the FDA first proposed the limit.

Despite the FDA’s decision surrounding apple juice earlier this month, Consumer Reports said there is still more action needed from the agency.

“They’ve made some promises that we want them to keep, but we also want them to go further and reducing the allowable limits and expanding the types of foods that they’re going to regulate with its Closer to Zero plan,” Rogers said.

Consumer Reports said it plans to follow up with future testing for heavy metal contamination in baby foods and other products.

—With assistance from Celine Castronuovo