The FDA's Baby Food Regulation May Have Overlooked Toxic Heavy Metals

Parents trust the FDA and are dismayed to hear that they may have inadvertently been feeding a deadly poison to their children

Saturday, November 20, 2021 - I was as shocked as anyone when I first learned that the US Food and Drug Administration does not test, monitor, or regulate the baby food industry and that most leading brands have been found to contain high levels of carcinogenic heavy metals. Household baby food names like Nurture, Inc, Beech-Nut, Hain, and Gerber's are among the manufacturers to produce baby food products that allegedly contain Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury. Researchers are concerned that children from all walks of life in America may have been unwittingly sickened and are looking into whether baby food heavy metal poisoning may contribute to the explosions in the number of cases of childhood autism, ADHD, developmental delays, or other cognitive or neurological problems.

Numerous baby food heavy metal lawsuits have been filed to date by the parents of children that have been allegedly injured by being fed baby foods contaminated with heavy metals. Legal experts think that number will grow once the public is made aware of the findings of a recent Congressional investigation that alleges the levels of toxic heavy metals in brand-name baby foods is "highly dangerous." The FDA does not monitor baby food but the amounts of metal found far exceed the levels thought to be safe in drinking water. Medical experts are concerned that even the smallest trace amount of heavy metal in baby foods is unsafe because of the frequency with which baby food is ingested. One must compare the amounts of heavy metals in baby food to the allowable levels in drinking water. For example, the FDA allows a limit of 10 parts per billion (ppb) of arsenic, 5 ppb for lead and cadmium, and 2 ppb of mercury. Baby food could contain levels of heavy metals that are orders of magnitude greater. The only FDA regulation to date is to limit the amount of inorganic arsenic in rice cereal baby food to 100 ppb.

The Congressional committee recommended that a toxic baby food warning be implemented to alert parents to the toxic poison that is in baby food. They recommend that the FDA mandate testing the final product of baby foods and not only testing the ingredients that to into them and requiring a heavy metal warning label for products that test positive. Finally, the FDA needs to set upper limits on the levels of toxic heavy metals in the food we feed our children. Walmart, Campbell's Soups, and Sprouts Organic declined to provide the congressional committee with information and are suspected to be the biggest baby food heavy metal offenders. Each of the companies listed above says that they comply with all current FDA regulations, however, there are none. More responsible baby food manufacturers look to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the California proposition 65 lists that set heavy metal limits for guidance. Gerber claims that they have developed their standards for food safety where the FDA lacks regulation. Baby food industry representatives are telling parents that discontinuing buying packaged baby food would be a mistake because the ingredients they use to make homemade baby food could be more toxic than the companies that have strict quality control.

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Lawyers for Baby Food Heavy Metals Lawsuits

We will represent all persons involved in a toxic baby food lawsuit on a contingency basis, meaning there are never any legal fees unless we win compensation in your case. Anyone whose child was diagnosed with autism, ADHD, or another neurological disorder after eating contaminated baby food is eligible to receive a free, no-obligation case review from our attorneys. Simply contact our firm through the online contact form or the chat feature and one of our baby food lawyers will contact you promptly to discuss your case.