Lead and other toxic heavy metals have been found in dangerously high amounts in some commercial baby foods sold in the United States, but parents have no way of knowing whether the baby foods they buy contain these levels higher.
Enter a California law that requires baby food manufacturers to use an accredited laboratory to test representative samples of any infant and toddler food (excluding infant formula) at least once a month to determine levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.
Since January 1, baby food manufacturers must provide the results of these tests to the public on their websites. Anyone can access these results by scanning a QR code on the baby food label with their smartphone.
The new law only applies to baby food sales in California, but major manufacturers, including market leaders Gerber and Beech-Nut, told CNN they are rolling out QR codes on baby food and toddlers across the country.
“This is a transparency law, and in the court of public opinion, transparency breeds accountability,” said Jaclyn Bowen, executive director of the Clean Label Project. a non-profit organization dedicated to transparent food labeling.
“With all of this information out in the open, we’re going to force the debate: What are we feeding America’s children? Let’s make sure we’re talking about healthy, nutrient-dense baby foods that come from healthy soils created by good environmental policy. ” Bowen said.
History of Heavy Metals in Baby Food
Over the past decade, investigations by consumer advocacy groups and a congressional subcommittee have found alarming levels of heavy metals in supermarket baby foods.
Internal documents from major manufacturers found that some baby food samples contained up to 177 times the level of lead, 91 times the level of inorganic arsenic, and 69 times the level of cadmium, according to a 2021 congressional investigation. permitted in bottled water by federal agencies.
These heavy metals have been linked to cancer, chronic disease and neurotoxic effects, but it is the damage that can be done to a developing child’s brain that makes baby food toxicity so devastating.
The combined investigations led to the introduction of the Baby Food Safety Act of 2024, which is still stuck in committee. But in October 2023, California acted alone.
“California bill AB 899 requires manufacturers to test the final baby food product at a level of six parts per billion for each heavy metal, and if the result is higher than that number, manufacturers must specify that number,” said Nick Mares, co-founder of Light. Labs, a certified laboratory providing testing to baby food manufacturers.
One part per billion would be the equivalent of adding a single drop of water to a 10,000 gallon swimming pool. However, no level of lead is safe for infants and young children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization and the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has proposed setting lead levels in baby foods at 10 parts per billion for many products and 20 parts per billion for grains and root vegetables, which can absorb lead. highest levels. The agency previously set levels of 100 parts per billion for arsenic in baby rice cereal, a level that critics say is too high. However, the FDA has not taken any action regarding other heavy metals.
“Of course, any number other than zero will scare parents, but these heavy metals are found in the earth’s crust and cannot be entirely eliminated, even in the foods we prepare at home,” Mares said.
However, experts say manufacturers can significantly reduce levels of toxic metals by choosing their suppliers carefully, such as opting for farmers who grow food on less polluted soil and use regenerative farming techniques. No-till farming, crop rotation, and growing cover crops, for example, all help microbes in the soil bind to heavy metals, leaving fewer toxins for plants to absorb.
“Smart companies will have already worked hard to change where they source their ingredients and how they process them,” said Scott Farber, senior vice president of government affairs at the Environmental Working Group, a group Nonprofit advocacy group aimed at reforming chemical safety and agricultural laws.
“It is highly likely that these changes in the marketplace will do more to reduce toxic metal levels than anything the FDA might ultimately do,” Farber said.
Expect some delays in implementation
The new California law applies to all baby foods manufactured on or after January 1, 2025, but consumers should be aware that existing products that do not meet the new guidelines should not be removed from retailer shelves. Products with the new QR codes could arrive in early 2025, as companies adjust their production schedules.
Gerber, which is owned by Nestlé SA, told CNN that the first batch of products displaying heavy metal test results would not be available until mid-January.
“All test results can be found by scanning the QR code on the product label or by visiting Gerber.com,” said Chandra Kumar, president of Nestlé Nutrition North America, in an email. “Consumers can then search for their product either by entering the lot number or searching by product name.”
Kumar said Gerber has routinely tested for more than 500 toxins and contaminants for decades and implements more than 100 individual quality checks before a baby food is sold. “We test cultures, water, ingredients and our final products to ensure we deliver on our promise of making safe, high-quality baby food,” Kumar said.
Beech-Nut has also been testing raw ingredients in baby food purees for 30 years and in 2022 began testing final products sold to consumers, according to Jason Jacobs, vice president of quality and technical services at Beech-Nut .
“In addition to testing for heavy metals, we also detect up to 255 pesticides, toxins and other environmental elements,” Jacobs said in an email. “Before raw materials are shipped to us, we require our agricultural partners to undergo a rigorous testing and documentation process before accepting them as producers.”
However, because the FDA has not set upper limits for most heavy metals, some smaller, more specialized baby food companies have already carved out a market for themselves by meeting the much lower heavy metal standards required. by the European Union.
“The advantage of being so small is that we can change things very quickly,” said Serenity Carr, co-founder and CEO of Serenity Kids, a baby food company based in Austin, Texas.
“For example, a few years ago we received a trace of lead on a mushroom powder we purchased that we did not expect to contain lead. So we changed our source and our type of mushroom,” Carr said. “Our program is actually even stricter than the EU because we have had success over the last five years in reducing these numbers.”
Check the nutrition label
Scanning a QR code then entering a lot number or searching by product name could make it more difficult for busy caregivers to choose baby foods with the lowest levels when shopping, according to reviews.
However, it is possible to create future platforms where consumers are taken directly to the test results of that product, said Kait Stephens, founder and CEO of Brij, a business intelligence platform that helps brands to connect their offline and online channels.
“Brands are still adapting to these regulations, which continue to evolve, but we have designed our solution with the flexibility to adapt as the regulatory landscape evolves,” Stephens said.
There are other concerns about implementing the new law, Farber said. Some baby food companies, such as those that sell only online, may choose not to comply with California regulations. So experts say parents and caregivers need to be careful consumers.
“It will be interesting to see which companies don’t comply,” Farber said. “I expect some will choose not to disclose.”
Parents and guardians should also be aware of another possible outcome: unscrupulous manufacturers choosing to skimp on nutrition to comply with the new regulations.
“The easiest way to reduce the amount of heavy metals in a food is to dilute it,” Bowen said. “If water is the first ingredient on this baby food’s ingredient list, be wary. Water has no calories, and you want your child to be satisfied with protein, healthy fats, and nutrients from of a variety of healthy fruits and vegetables So reading that nutrition label will be key.”
As the new law takes effect, it’s possible to see even greater reductions in heavy metals and other contaminants as companies struggle to retain consumers, experts say.
“On January 1, it will be a bit like whether the price is right or maybe it’s wrong, because every company will have to disclose their numbers,” Farber said. “One baby food company will have the highest levels, and another will have the lowest levels. And that, I believe, will lead to further reformulation.”
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