After an independent study reported elevated amounts of toxic heavy metals in baby food products, the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy launched its own investigation focusing on several major US manufacturers.

In February 2021, the Subcommittee released a report confirming that excessive neurotoxic arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury were found in a host of infant nutritional products. While federal and state authorities have been seeking to reduce exposure risks through regulatory involvement, baby food companies have been slow, if not reticent, in voluntarily implementing measures that would ensure their products’ safety.

The Concerning Extent of Heavy Metal Contamination

During its investigation, the Subcommittee requested internal data regarding safety standards and testing policies from Gerber, Nurture, Hain Celestial, Beech-Nut, Campbell, Sprout, and Walmart. The latter three companies were uncooperative and didn’t deliver the requested information.

Despite analyzing information from only four manufacturers, the Subcommittee uncovered lacking or absent standards that allowed contaminants to proliferate in their products. Most companies failed to test for mercury, some only analyzed ingredients foregoing final product testing, unsafe additives were used, and products high in heavy metals were knowingly sold to unsuspecting consumers. Compared to safety limits that apply for other FDA-regulated products, neurotoxic metals in infant nutritional items were multiple times higher.

• Mercury – 5 times higher
• Cadmium – 69 times higher
• Arsenic – 91 times higher
• Lead – 177 times higher

Infants and toddlers are especially susceptible to dietary heavy metal exposure, given their higher nutrient absorption rate and underdeveloped filtering systems. Over time, bioaccumulated toxic metals wreak havoc on the brain and nervous system, impacting long-term development and leading to lower IQs, behavior issues, and neurologic conditions like ADHD and autism spectrum disorders.

Mitigation Efforts Fall Short of Expectations

One month after the investigation’s results came to light, the Subcommittee’s leader, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL), submitted the Baby Food Safety Act proposal to the House. Most importantly, the bill aims to establish actionable interim safety levels for neurotoxic metals, which would be further lowered in the future:

• Mercury – 2 ppb
• Lead and Cadmium – 5 ppb
• Arsenic – 10 ppb

In April 2021, the FDA launched the “Closer to Zero” initiative intending to set definitive standards for heavy metals in baby food products by 2024 or even longer. The plan’s lengthy and vague timeline has been criticized by experts who note that its inherent redundancies prevent expeditious and necessary action.

Despite these efforts and the issue’s broader implications, the bill has been largely ignored, and the FDA’s slow plan has yet to produce any significant regulatory improvements.

On the heels of an updated Subcommittee report that illustrated even higher levels of contamination than previously believed, a coalition of 23 Attorneys General petitioned the FDA concerning its plan’s ineffectually slow timeline. The Coalition, which includes Oregon’s Ellen Rosenblum among its signatories, requested that the FDA implement the Baby Food Safety Act’s proposed interim safety levels no later than April 2022.

After the FDA denied the petition in May 2022, the Coalition requested that the Administration reconsider its decision. In a letter to the FDA and the US Department of Agriculture, the Coalition once again urged both agencies to take immediate action to reduce toxic metals in baby and toddler food. The USDA oversees the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) federal program that ensures nutritional support to 53% of US newborns and still includes arsenic-ridden rice cereals amongst its offerings.

How Oregon Manufacturers Can Improve Product Safety

Currently, the FDA recommends that arsenic in infant rice cereal be limited to a contested 100 parts per billion (ppb) standard, covering only one heavy metal hazard in a narrow range of baby food products. Moreover, the recommendation isn’t enforceable, allowing manufacturers to continue largely self-regulating in the absence of effective institutional involvement.

Until the FDA adopts more efficient measures that ensure baby food safety, individual states can limit exposure by excluding problematic items from federal programs. In Oregon, the WIC program doesn’t offer problematic rice cereals for enrolled families anymore, similar to Washington, Hawaii, and Alaska.

Even though heavy metals are naturally occurring elements and completely eliminating them can be difficult even with substantial efforts, manufacturers are ultimately responsible for their products’ safety. Still, baby food companies can demonstrate good faith and adherence to responsible industry standards by implementing prudent measures that significantly reduce heavy metals in finished products:

• Sourcing ingredients from ethical suppliers that employ transparent standards and practices or from crops grown on land with reduced heavy metal concentrations.
• Prioritize crops and strains with a lower uptake of problematic metals, and use natural additives to prevent further environmental contamination.
• Improve hiring and employment standards and benefits to attract and retain experienced professionals.
• Maintain sanitized production facilities around the clock by employing qualified staff trained in hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) principles and standards.
• Conduct periodic product testing to ensure that heavy metal concentrations are kept at low levels and provide precise and transparent information regarding their contents on labels.
• Voluntarily recall contaminated products when testing confirms elevated amounts of toxic heavy metals.

About the Author

Jonathan Sharp serves as CFO at Environmental Litigation Group PC, a law firm from Birmingham, Alabama, that specializes in toxic exposure cases and helps families whose children developed debilitating conditions after consuming contaminated products.