In February 2021, The US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a report on Heavy Metals in Baby Foods – specifically arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury. The report found that “commercial baby foods are tainted with significant levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.”

The report called for sweeping reforms including the phasing out of certain ingredients, such as rice, in baby food products, regular testing of ingredients and final products, and for the establishment of federal limits for heavy metals in baby food products.

Read the report here.

A national investigation of popular baby food products highlighted the need to set federal standards and urged parents to avoid rice baby food products.

Read the report here.

In an exclusive report for CNN, Healthy Babies, Bright Futures tested 288 foods bought at stores and farmers markets across the United States.

Read the report here.

Soil is the most common pathway. Many heavy metals still make their way to plants even in organic soil. That’s because contaminated water run-off, not pesticides, are the common cause of metals in soil. Foods take up metals like lead and arsenic from the soil and water. Some foods are especially efficient at pulling heavy metals from the soil. Consumers are also exposed to heavy metals through other routes, including the trace amounts in air and contaminated water.

According to the 2021 Congressional Report, the use of certain artificial additives was linked to high heavy metal results in baby food products. The report recommended that companies regularly test their final products to minimize this risk.

Contaminants are caused by contaminated cooking water, metals used in the food processing equipment (especially older equipment), over-processing, and overheating certain foods. In other words, how your baby’s food is made is as important as what it is made of.

Rice is a leading source of arsenic exposure for young children. Limiting rice from a baby’s diet will dramatically reduce arsenic exposure. All three major reports, including the recent Congressional 2021 report, recommended the reduction of rice-based baby food products, noting that rice is one of the most common ingredients for commercially-made baby food.

While brown rice is typically considered healthier than white rice, it’s important to note that brown rice typically tests higher for arsenic. This is because heavy metals are primarily found in the bran layer of rice, which is removed in white rice.

Commercially produced juice, meanwhile, has been linked to higher readings of arsenic and lead. An investigation by Consumer Reports 2019 found cadmium, arsenic, and lead in popular fruit juices. Due to the high sugar content, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no juice before 1 and then very limited amounts from age 1 to 3.

Whether you’re cooking or buying baby food, try to expose your child to a wide variety of ingredients. Variety ensures your child is not relying on a singular source of nutrition that could be high in heavy metals. A varied diet of real, wholesome foods has a wide range of benefits, including training your baby to reach for veggies instead of sweets, greater exposure to nutrients, and the promotion of a healthier gut biome.

Some foods actually help limit the absorption of heavy metals in the body.

Binders attach themselves to heavy metals and assist in their removal from the digestive tract. Good examples include tomatoes, blueberries, and spirulina.

Blockers, meanwhile, help block the absorption of heavy metals. Specific nutrients, such as iron and calcium, are popular blockers. Vitamin C helps boost absorption of iron, so we recommend serving iron-rich foods (broccoli, beans, and spinach) with foods rich in vitamin C (kiwis, papayas, peppers, and tomatoes).
Learn more about this in our book, First Bites, a best-seller on Amazon.

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In 2017, the FDA established a Toxic Elements Working Group tasked with looking at heavy metals and other contaminants in food. For more details, you can explore the FDA’s resources on the Closer to Zero program here.

It is common practice to test ingredients prior to use in baby foods. However, as noted above, artificial additives and the manufacturing process can drastically alter the end result of the product. The baby food industry must make it common practice to test both ingredients and final product.