Beech-Nut Baby Food Heavy Metals Suits Must Await FDA Action

The Food and Drug Administration—not a court—has the primary responsibility to evaluate heavy metals in baby foods, a federal judge said, dismissing proposed class suits against Beech-Nut Nutrition Co. for the time being.

Plaintiffs allege Beech-Nut didn’t adequately test its products for heavy metals such as lead and arsenic, didn’t disclose their presence in its products, and continues to sell baby foods with dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals that can cause developmental harm.

The suits, pending in the US District Court for the Northern District of New York, were among many proposed class actions against baby food companies that ...