A U.S. House Subcommittee requested internal data from seven companies following a nonprofit s published testing results.
Feb 5th, 2021
iStock
A congressional investigation has found levels of arsenic, lead and other toxic metals that can harm brain development in many popular baby foods, including organic brands.
In a report released Thursday, a U.S. House Subcommittee said it requested internal data from seven companies, including Walmart, in 2019 after a nonprofit called Healthy Babies Bright Futures published results of testing it did on baby foods.
Four of the companies Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earth’s Best Organics maker Hain Celestial and Happy Family Organics maker Nurture Inc. shared documents. The subcommittee said Walmart, Sprout Foods and Campbell Soup Co., which makes Plum Organics baby food, didn’t cooperate.
By Jason Hall
Parents will want to double check what they re feeding their babies.
A new report by the United States Oversight subcommittee released on Thursday (February 4) reveals some popular baby foods contain significant levels of toxic heavy metals, which could harm their babies neurological development.
According to the report, baby food products found to contain lead, cadmium and arsenic included the brands Beech-Nut, Earth s Best Organic, Happy Family Organics and Gerber.
Happy Family Organics products were also found to have mercury. These results are multiples higher than allowed under existing regulations for other products, the report stated. Internal company standards permit dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals, and documents revealed that the manufacturers have often sold foods that exceeded those levels.
By Jason Hall
Parents will want to double check what they re feeding their babies.
A new report by the United States Oversight subcommittee released on Thursday (February 4) reveals some popular baby foods contain significant levels of toxic heavy metals, which could harm their babies neurological development.
According to the report, baby food products found to contain lead, cadmium and arsenic included the brands Beech-Nut, Earth s Best Organic, Happy Family Organics and Gerber.
Happy Family Organics products were also found to have mercury. These results are multiples higher than allowed under existing regulations for other products, the report stated. Internal company standards permit dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals, and documents revealed that the manufacturers have often sold foods that exceeded those levels.
Baby food manufacturers knowingly sold products with high levels of toxic metals, a congressional investigation found
Share this:
(CNN)
Four leading baby food manufacturers knowingly sold baby food that contained high levels of toxic heavy metals, according to internal company documents included in a congressional investigation released Thursday.
“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,” said Democratic Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, chair of the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, which conducted the investigation, signed by the Democratic members.