High Levels of Heavy Metal in Baby Food
Often your baby’s health and safety is mama’s number one concern. A shocking new investigation shows that there are a high level of toxic metal in baby food that are detrimental to baby’s health. Stay tuned to find out more information and what can be done about it!
“Dangerous levels of toxic metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury exist in baby foods at levels that exceed what experts and governing bodies say are permissible” says Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois.
Baby food manufacturers hold a great power of trust from the public. Parents believe that they would not sell products that are unsafe for babies and especially believe that the federal government would not knowingly allow the sale of unsafe baby food.
But that is sadly not what is going on! 🙁
The Study
Published by the House Oversight and Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy
They tested baby foods from the following Major U.S manufacturers
Gerber
Beech-Nut
Happy Baby
Earth’s Best Organic
Plum Organics
Parents Choice
Sprout Organic Foods
The Results
95% contained lead
73% contained arsenic
75% contained cadmium
32% contained mercury
One fourth of the foods contained all four heavy metals.
Foods with the highest risk for neurotoxic harm were found to be:
- Rice cereal
- Rice dishes
- Rice teething wafers
- Rice puff snacks
- Fruit juices
- Sweet potatoes
- Carrots
Why are rice based products the leading food?
Arsenic is a natural element found in soil, water and air, with the inorganic form being the most toxic.
Because rice is grown in water, it is especially good at absorbing inorganic arsenic and, according to the FDA, has the highest concentration of any food.
Are the organic options safe?
Studies show that organic options are not safe either. A common brown rice syrup sweetener, used in organic foods was also found to have high levels of arsenic.
Recommended Safer Alternatives
Snacks: rice-free snacks
Teething foods: frozen banana or a cooled cucumber
Cereal: oatmeal or multigrain
Drinks: water
Fruits and vegetables: A wide variety of colorful fruits and vegetables including carrots and sweet potatoes
What are the effects of toxic metal in baby food?
The consequences for babies are very serious because they are so small.
Even low levels of exposure can cause serious and often irreversible damage to brain development.
The amount of neurotoxins that they are being exposed to in these foods is much higher than what is considered safe for adults! And babies only weigh a few pounds.
From conception to the age of two babies brains are growing and developing at a very rapid rate. These toxic heavy metals endanger their neurological development and long-term brain function
These impacts build upon each other with each meal and snack that the baby eats.
The study states that exposure to these toxic heavy metals
- Causes permanent decreases in IQ
- Diminished future economic productivity
- Increases risk of future criminal and antisocial behavior in children
The US Food and Drug Administration:
The FDA is responsible for the safety and security of our nation’s food supply.
In response to the congressional study, they have acknowledged that there are high levels of toxic metal in baby food and that more needs to be done to lower these levels because the effects are significant.
BUT!
They are still allowing manufacturers to test and report the levels of these metals in the ingredients of the baby food and not the finished product.
And they still have not set a maximum level for heavy metals in baby foods.
Comparing Set Standards
For our example, we are going to compare the set standard for bottled drinking water to the set standard for infant rice cereal. Keep in mind that bottled water is for adults and the infant rice cereal is obviously for infants.
Infant rice cereal has
177 times the lead level
91 times the inorganic arsenic level
69 times the cadmium level
5 times the mercury level
Then bottled water does. WHAT!?
These are babies we are talking about. Little, tiny, precious babies, and this is what is allowed in their food!!?
I’m so extremely disturbed!
Urgent Action Needed
The FDA must require mandatory testing of the finished products and not just the ingredients. There should be labels on foods that report the levels of heavy toxic metals- especially baby foods! If products or ingredients are naturally high in heavy metals, such as rice, they should not be used in baby food.
The FDA should set standards for heavy metals in all baby products.
Parents trust that the food that is made for their babies is safe for them to consume. Finding out this kind of information is so heartbreaking. I cried all afternoon.
Make your own baby food!
There are plenty of baby food makers on the market that allow for easy cooking, blending, and cleaning. Making your own baby food will give you a piece of mind and you will not have to worry about what your baby is being exposed to. In this article we discussed all of the reasons you should not feed your baby food from leading manufacturers. Until these issues are settled and the FDA does better, I highly suggest you make your own baby food!
