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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration this week announced the highest levels of lead in baby foods such as jarred fruits and vegetables, yogurt, and dry cereals as part of an effort to reduce young children’s exposure to toxic metals that can cause developmental problems and neurological problems. was set.
The agency released final guidance that it estimates could reduce lead exposure from processed baby foods by about 20 to 30 percent. This limit is voluntary for food manufacturers and not mandatory, but it allows FDA to take enforcement action if a food exceeds that level.
This is part of the FDA’s continued efforts to “reduce dietary exposure to contaminants, including lead, in foods as low as possible over the long term, while preserving access to nutritious foods.” the FDA said in a statement.
Consumer advocacy groups, which have long called for limits on lead in children’s foods, welcomed the guidance, first proposed two years ago, but said it did not go far enough.
“Today’s FDA action is a step forward and will help protect children,” said Thomas Galligan, a scientist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest. “However, the authorities took too long to act and ignored important public input that could have strengthened these standards.”
The new lead limit for children under 2 does not include grain-based snacks such as puffs and teething biscuits, which some have found to contain high levels of lead. research shows. It also does not restrict other metals, such as cadmium, which have been found in baby food.
The FDA’s announcement will require baby food manufacturers selling their products in California to provide QR codes on their packages to provide consumers with monthly test results for four heavy metals in their products. The move comes just a week after the state’s new law went into effect. , mercury, arsenic, cadmium.
This change is required under a law passed by the California Legislature in 2023 and will affect consumers across the United States. Since companies are unlikely to create separate packaging for the California market, products sold across the U.S. are likely to display QR codes, allowing consumers to check heavy metal levels wherever they are. It will be.
Companies must start printing new packaging and publishing test results for manufactured products in January, but it could be a while before products hit grocery store shelves.
The law was inspired by a 2021 congressional investigation that found dangerously high levels of heavy metals in packaged foods sold to infants and young children. Baby food and its ingredients contain up to 91 times the arsenic level, up to 177 times the lead level, up to 69 times the cadmium level, and up to 5 times the mercury level that the United States allows in bottled or drinking water. It was. , as revealed in the investigation.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is no safe level of lead exposure for children. The metal causes “well-documented health effects,” including brain and nervous system damage and delayed growth and development. However, lead is naturally present in some foods and comes from contaminants in the air, water, and soil, so it may be impossible to completely eliminate it.
FDA guidance sets lead limits at 10 ppb for fruits, most vegetables, grain and meat mixtures, yogurt, custards and puddings, and single-ingredient meats. We set a 20 ppb limit for single-ingredient root vegetables and dry infant cereals. This guidance is for packaged processed foods sold in jars, pouches, tubs, or boxes.
Jaclyn Bowen, executive director of the Clean Label Project, an organization that certifies that baby food contains low levels of toxins, said consumers should look to the new FDA guidance in tandem with the new California law. He said it was available. These are the “hard numbers” to consider as a benchmark when reviewing your new monthly test results.
But Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said the FDA’s restrictions are “virtually meaningless because they are based on industry feasibility rather than what best protects public health.” said. Products with lead levels of 10 ppb “are still far too high for baby food. What we’re hearing from many of these manufacturers is that they test well below that number.”
The FDA’s new guidance will be effective between October 2023 and April 2024, one year after lead-contaminated apple cinnamon puree sachets sickened more than 560 children in the U.S., according to the CDC. It was announced after the above.
Levels of lead found in these products were more than 2,000 times the FDA maximum. Officials stressed that the agency does not need guidance to take action against food products that violate the law.
Alecia writes for The Associated Press. Gold reports on the Times’ Early Childhood Education Initiative, which focuses on the learning and development of California’s children from birth to age five. For more information about this initiative and the philanthropic funders, visit latimes.com/earlyed.
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