The FDA’s Slow Efforts to Minimize Heavy Metals in Baby Food Is Causing a Crisis
Since last year’s winter, it has been a struggle for American parents of infants and toddlers to shop for clean, nourishing food for their children. While the presence of dangerous concentrations of heavy metals in baby food most likely dates back a few decades, it was only on February 4, 2021, that a congressional report shed light on the grim reality of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury lurking in the products of at least four baby food companies.
According to the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which led the investigation, the level of arsenic in the baby food of the manufacturers that agreed to participate was 91 times higher than the safe limit, the concentration of cadmium 69 times greater, the level of lead, 177 times higher, and the concentration of mercury, 5 times greater. To understand how acute the problem is, let the following findings sink in – the arsenic level in the raw ingredients used by Beech-Nut was over 913 ppb when the safe limit is only 10 ppb, while the lead concentration in the products of Hain Celestial Group was 352 when the safe limit is just 5 ppb.
On September 29, 2021, the Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a second congressional report, which found that Hain Celestial Group, which sells baby food under the brand name Earth’s Best, had grossly underestimated the concentration of heavy metals in its products. According to the most recent investigation, the dangerous heavy metal levels were underestimated by up to 93% in the finished products of this manufacturer.
Infants and toddlers are extremely vulnerable to heavy metals ingestion, as they have a greater nutrient uptake rate by the gastrointestinal tract. Exposure to high concentrations of heavy metals during early childhood may result in autism and other neurodevelopmental problems such as lower IQ, cognitive damage, learning disabilities, ADHD, and behavioral abnormalities. For this reason, the FDA devised a strategy to minimize the content of arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury in baby food. However, the agency’s Closer to Zero plan approach is quite problematic.
How the FDA’s Closer to Zero Plan Falls Short
Thought out as a four-step strategy, the Closer to Zero plan is unnecessarily complex and lengthy. Its first two steps can be skipped entirely, as they entail redundant action – “evaluate the scientific basis for action levels” and “propose action levels.” The reason why these steps are futile is that the safe limits for the four heavy metals of concern have already been established by reputable agencies, as well as by the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021. Consequently, the FDA should get straight to the core of the issue, namely assessing the “achievability and feasibility of action levels.”
In addition to setting maximum permissible limits for heavy metals, the FDA should also enable baby food manufacturers to implement practices that would minimize the chances of dangerous heavy metal levels contaminating their raw ingredients and finished products. One of these practices would be sourcing their rice, a crucial ingredient in baby food, from crops grown on low-arsenic soil. According to the most recent study of the non-profit organization Healthy Babies Bright Futures, the most heavily contaminated foods consumed by infants and toddlers are rice cakes, crisped rice cereal, rice-based puffs, brown rice, rice-based teething biscuits and rusks, and white rice.
The FDA estimates that the Closer to Zero plan would come to fruition in 2024 or even later, which is unacceptable in that developing children need clean, non-toxic food as soon as possible. Not only parents have expressed their anger with the agency’s strategy – in October 2021, a coalition of 24 Attorneys General petitioned the FDA and urged it to take more aggressive action to tackle the issue of heavy metals in baby food. Other shortcomings of the Closer to Zero plan include the FDA’s failure to be consistent in raising awareness that there is no safe lead level in children’s blood and the agency’s failure to move up the deadlines for draft action levels for arsenic and cadmium.
Regarding research, on July 18, 2022, the FDA found considerable levels of toxic heavy metals in baby food during its ongoing monitoring efforts. The agency found arsenic in 51% of the baby food samples analyzed, cadmium in 65%, lead in 21%, and mercury in 3%. According to the agency, the highest arsenic level was detected in infant cereals and products such as teething biscuits and puffed snacks, which should have been expected, as rice is notorious for being high in arsenic. Charlotte Brody, the national director of Healthy Babies Bright Futures, said she worries the agency may be overstating the positives.
The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, A Viable Alternative to the Closer to Zero Plan
On March 26, 2021, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who led both investigations on baby food companies, proposed the bill known as the Baby Food Safety Act, which, if it entered law, would set maximum safe limits for arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury right away. Furthermore, it would also have the FDA periodically review and, if needed, further lower these limits. The agency would also have the authority to request a recall of adulterated or misbranded baby food.
The Baby Food Safety Act would also make it mandatory for facilities that manufacture, process, pack or hold infant and toddler food to have specific controls and plans to ensure their products comply with the limits on toxic heavy metals established by the bill. These facilities would also have to make public certain information, including results from tests for toxic elements. Finally, the Centers for Disease Control would have to carry out public awareness campaigns on the risks of toxic elements in baby food.
How Baby Food Companies Can Lower the Content of Heavy Metals in Their Products
No baby food manufacturer intentionally adds heavy metals to their products. These contaminants end up in baby food because of negligence, as the raw ingredients they use can contain tremendous concentrations of toxic metals. Therefore, perhaps the most important measure manufacturers must take to prevent contamination is sourcing the raw ingredients from the right place, more specifically from farmers who grow crops with natural soil additives that reduce heavy metal uptake, use strains of food that are less likely to absorb heavy metals, and alter irrigation practices.
Testing both the raw ingredients and the finished products is the next step, as it helps baby food companies ensure what they put on the market is safe to consume for vulnerable children. While having a food sample tested for heavy metals can cost between $50 and $100, manufacturers can sign a mutually beneficial agreement with a certified laboratory to get a lower cost for testing, as they will inevitably do it more often. Alternatively, they can test their baby food by using this FDA-approved method. To make sure the company is ethical if one or multiple lots of baby food are found to contain excess heavy metals, the manufacturer must issue a recall immediately.
Finally, it is important to note that if the baby food company must comply with the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), it should also implement the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points (HACCP) system. Recognized internationally, it protects the safety of consumers by helping baby food manufacturers test for toxic contaminants, including heavy metals. As for earning the trust and loyalty of customers, baby food manufacturers should have honest labels on their products, even if they use some not-so-healthy ingredients, such as additives. The more transparent a baby food company is regarding its practices; the more likely parents are to buy its products.
As Chief Financial Officer, Jonathan Sharp is responsible for case evaluation, management of firm assets, and financial analysis at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C. The law firm, headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, specializes in toxic exposure, assisting parents of children who developed autism due to ingesting contaminated baby food, among other diverse clients.