Consumer reports baby food heavy metals

Homemade baby food contains as many toxic metals as store-bought, study finds

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Marilyn Moritz, Reporter

Published: September 9, 2022, 5:20 PM

Tags: Consumer Reports, 12 On Your Side, Baby food, Heavy metals, News

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But there are ways parents can minimize exposure

Marilyn Moritz, Reporter

Published: September 9, 2022, 5:20 PM

Tags: Consumer Reports, 12 On Your Side, Baby food, Heavy metals, News

If you think making your own baby food is safer than using store-bought options, a study finds that's likely not true.

SAN ANTONIO – Alondi Alberti makes her own baby food for her daughter, Rain, because she wants to be sure what she’s feeding her is safe.

“I worry about what’s in store baby food all the time because I just don’t know what to trust, what’s in the soil, where that product is being raised,” the first-time mother said.

But homemade might pose the same problems as store-bought baby food, according to a report from Healthy Babies Bright Future.

“When it comes to detectable levels of heavy metals, the report finds that homemade baby food is not safer than store-bought,” said Consumer Reports’ Kevin Loria.

Those heavy metals include lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. The biggest offender is foods made from rice, such as rice puffs and rice cereals.

“While heavy metals naturally exist in the environment, most metals in food come from farming practices or industrial pollution. And certain ingredients like rice and spinach are more likely to absorb certain metals,” Loria said.

Exposure to heavy metals in children has been linked to behavioral issues, lowered IQs, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The Food and Drug Administration has announced plans to set limits on metals in certain foods.

But until that takes effect, Consumer Reports suggests the following ways for parents to keep their children’s food safe:

Make sure your kids eat a healthy variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables, such as broccoli and sweet potatoes.
Focus on meals made with foods that tend to have lower levels of heavy metals, such as bananas, oranges, eggs and meats.
In addition, eat fresh or frozen fruits instead of canned.
Replace infant rice cereal with infant oatmeal.
Peel sweet potatoes and carrots to reduce heavy metal levels. And offer tap water instead of fruit juices.
If you’re used to giving your kids rice puffs as a snack, CR recommends offering your kids applesauce, fruit, yogurt or cheese instead.

Click here to see more Consumer Reports coverage on KSAT.com

About the Author:

Marilyn Moritz

As a consumer reporter, Marilyn is all about helping people stay safe and save a buck. Since coming to KSAT in 1985, she’s covered everything from crime to politics, winning awards for her coverage of the Mexican Mafia, Oklahoma tornadoes, children’s transplants, an investigation into voting irregularities and even a hit-and-run Santa Claus.

‘Consumer Reports’ Finds Heavy Metals in Baby Foods

Written by Kathleen Doheny

Aug. 16, 2018 -- Heavy metals at levels called ''troublesome'' are lurking in foods commonly eaten by babies and toddlers, according to a new Consumer Reports investigation.

Scientists there studied 50 packaged foods made for children, from cereals to snacks, testing three samples of each. They estimated how much of each food a child typically eats, then looked at medical research on what levels of the heavy metals could cause health issues.

"We found troublesome levels of heavy metals, in particular inorganic arsenic, cadmium, or lead, in every single sample," says James Dickerson, PhD, Consumer Reports' chief scientific officer. "These heavy metals shouldn’t be in food, period.'' They can damage the nervous system, cause cancer, and harm children's development, he says.

Yet, "it's not that surprising'' the heavy metals were there, he says. They are found in nature. Most heavy metals in food come from water or soil contaminated through farming or manufacturing processes, from the use of pesticides, or pollution from leaded gasoline, the report explains.

What was especially concerning, Dickerson says, is that about two-thirds, or 68%, of the tested foods had very high levels of the heavy metals. "What we are concerned about is if you feed your child this [food with high levels of heavy metals], over the lifetime of their development, particularly during birth to 4, then you will have an increased risk of having cancer, for example."

The effects are long term, he says, not short term. It's not that children will vomit or have other kinds of immediate reactions, Dickerson says. The effects happen over time.

Report Details

After the analysis, the Consumer Reports scientists conclude that:

15 of the foods would pose ''potential health risks" if a child ate one serving or less every day.
Snacks and products with rice or sweet potatoes were more likely than other foods to have high levels of the heavy metals. White rice had lower levels than brown.
Organic foods were as likely as nonorganic to have high levels of heavy metals.

Here are the 15 foods that Consumer Reports recommends limiting to less than a serving a day:

Earth's Best Organic Chicken & Brown Rice
Earth's Best Turkey, Red Beans and Brown Rice
Gerber Chicken &Rice
Gerber Turkey & Rice
Sprout Organic Baby Food Garden Vegetables Brown Rice with Turkey
Gerber Lil' Meals White Turkey Stew with Rice & Vegetables
Gerber Carrot, Pear & Blackberry
Gerber Carrots Peas & Corn with Lil' Bits
Plum Organics Just Sweet Potato Organic Baby Food
Beech-Nut Classics Sweet Potatoes
Earth's Best Organic Sweet Potatoes, 1^st Stage
Earth's Best Organic Whole Grain Rice Cereal
Earth's Best Organic Sunny Days Snack Bars, Strawberry
Happy Bab Organics Superfood Puffs, Apple & Broccoli
Happy Baby Organics Superfood Puffs, Purple Carrot & Blueberry

Advice for Parents

The message, Dickerson says, is not to be alarmed but to think "balance, balance, balance" when it comes to a child's diet. "If you happen to be giving them a lot of rice-based products, mix in oats or wheat. The idea is balance, not overemphasizing any one particular grain or food.''

"Back off on snack foods,'' as most of those products contain rice, he says.

Who's Watching the Levels?

"There exists no regulatory guidance on what levels are acceptable," Dickerson says. But the FDA is working on it. "In 2016, the FDA did propose limiting inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal to 100 parts per billion,'' the report notes. And earlier, in 2013, it proposed limiting inorganic arsenic in apple juice to 10 ppb, which is the federal standard for arsenic in drinking water

Dickerson says Consumer Reports has been discussing the need for more regulation with the FDA. The agency says it is hoping to finalize the new guidelines by the end of 2018.

Food Makers' Response

Consumer Reports officials have also had discussions with baby food makers. Among the actions the experts at Consumer Reports recommend, Dickerson says, are sourcing the raw food from growers to be sure it has low levels of heavy metals and ensuring the manufacturing process does not introduce contaminants (like from metal used in the machinery). Most companies said they do their own testing and are in favor of the government setting limits, according to the report.

Beech-Nut, a major baby food maker, said in a statement that it focuses on safety and quality of its infant and toddler foods. “We have high standards and rigorous testing protocols. We established heavy metal testing standards 35 years ago, and we continuously review and strengthen them wherever possible."

The company says it already follows Consumer Reports’ recommendations about manufacturers ''sourcing produce from areas less likely to be contaminated, and ensuring water and equipment used for manufacturing do not contribute to contamination.”

The company says it buys its rice from California, which, it says, has the lowest levels of arsenic of any rice-growing region.

“We test every delivery of fruits, vegetables, rice and other ingredients for up to 255 contaminants to confirm that every shipment meets our strict quality standards. If the ingredients don’t meet our standards, we reject them.”

Beech-Nut also says its facilities meet “all regulatory standards for water quality, food preparation and packaging. We have conducted testing on our facility and have found no evidence of any contaminants entering our products during the production process.''

In a statement, industry giant Gerber says that it ''prides itself on our dedication to nutritious, high-quality and safe food. All of our foods meet our safety and quality standards, which are among the strictest in the world. Our rigorous standards are developed by evaluating the latest food safety guidance -- from sources like the Food and Drug Administration, Environmental Protection Agency, and international health authorities.”

The company, in its statement, also says it “partners with our farmers and our ingredient and packaging suppliers to control, reduce and limit contaminants in all our foods.''

Arsenic, lead and mercury found in popular brands of baby food

https://ria. ru/20210205/pitanie-1596127725.html

Arsenic, lead and mercury found in popular brands of baby food

Found in popular brands of baby food arsenic, lead and mercury - RIA Novosti, 02/05/2021

Arsenic, lead and mercury found in popular brands of baby food .. RIA Novosti, 05.02.2021

2021-02-05T10: 41

2021-02-05T16: 38

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MOSCOW, February 5 - RIA Novosti. High levels of heavy toxic metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, have been found in some U.S. baby formulas that can lead to neurological damage in children, according to a U.S. House of Representatives study. Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee experts examined the domestic documentation from Gerber, Nurture Inc, Hain Celestial Group Inc, Beech-Nutrition, who provided data on a voluntary basis in response to a subcommittee request. It was based on reports of the presence of metals a year earlier. Walmart, Campbell and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate with the investigators. "The subcommittee investigation proves that commercial baby food contains dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium. "metals pose a serious health hazard to infants and toddlers. Manufacturers knowingly sell these products to unsuspecting parents, despite internal company standards and test results, and without any warning labels," the subcommittee on economic and consumer policy said in the text of the study. in the structure of the Committee on Oversight and Reform in the US House of Representatives. It is noted that exposure to toxic heavy metals leads to a "permanent decrease in IQ", as well as a decrease in "infant neurological development and long-term brain function." According to the US regulator and WHO, these four heavy metals are hazardous to human health, "especially for infants and children, who are most susceptible to their neutrotoxic effects. " nine0003

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worldwide , walmart

Worldwide, USA, WHO, Health - Society, Walmart

MOSCOW, February 5 - RIA Novosti. High levels of heavy toxic metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, have been found in some US baby formulas that can lead to neurological damage in children, according to a US House of Representatives study.

Experts from the Economic and Consumer Policy Subcommittee reviewed internal documentation from Gerber, Nurture Inc, Hain Celestial Group Inc, Beech-Nutrition, which provided data on a voluntary basis in response to a subcommittee request. It was based on reports of the presence of metals that appeared a year earlier. nine0003

August 15, 2020, 02:05 AM

Sugar in baby food deemed dangerous for adults

Walmart, Campbell and Sprout Organic Foods refused to cooperate with the investigators.

"Subcommittee investigation finds that commercial baby food contains dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium. These toxic heavy metals pose a serious health hazard to infants and toddlers. Manufacturers knowingly sell these products to unsuspecting parents, despite internal company standards and test results, and without any warning label," the text of the study by the subcommittee on economic and consumer policy in the structure of the Committee on Oversight and Reform in the US House of Representatives says. nine0003

Exposure to toxic heavy metals has been reported to result in a "permanent decline in IQ" as well as a reduction in "infant neurological development and long-term brain function". According to the US regulator and WHO, these four heavy metals are hazardous to human health, "especially for infants and children, who are most susceptible to their neutrotoxic effects."

January 25, 2021, 12:13

The Prosecutor General's Office will check the quality of food in kindergartens and schools

In baby food Gerber and Nurture Inc. found heavy metals

Experts from the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy of the US House of Representatives found dangerous levels of toxic metals in the baby food of several American brands. CNN writes about the progress of the investigation.

Testing found high levels of substances such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury in baby products. These heavy toxic metals pose a serious health hazard to children. nine0192
Products from Gerber, Nurture Inc., Hain Celestial Group and Beech-Nutrition.
Manufacturers have been accused of knowingly selling these unlabeled products to parents who are unaware of the risks they are putting their children at.
Experts and the World Health Organization also draw attention to the fact that exposure to these metals can lead to a decrease in intelligence, inhibition of the neurological development of infants and impaired brain function. nine0192

US Baby Food Market Situation

According to the 2019 Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) report, 95% of baby food samples tested contain at least one of four substances: arsenic, mercury, cadmium or lead.

Experts tested 168 baby food brands. 25% of them contained all four substances at once.
The researchers specifically recommended avoiding rice-based foods, as well as carrots, sweet potatoes, and fruit juices. nine0192
Instead, scientists recommended steaming vegetables for children, feeding them cereals, fruits for breakfast, and using a frozen banana or chilled cucumber to relieve teething pain.

In Russia

, New Zealand (1), Russia (4), Finland (1), Switzerland (1) and Estonia (1), which are sold in Russia. nine0003

Experts did not reveal any violations, but only the Belarusian product showed full compliance with all quality standards.
Experts tested the mixtures for microbiological safety and the presence of preservatives and antibiotics.
The results showed that the products are "free of dangerous microorganisms (including salmonella), mold and yeast, preservatives and antibiotics, lead, mercury, cadmium and arsenic."

Child food poisoning cases