The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Plan aims at heavy metals in baby food
After years of pressure, FDA to set guidelines; critics say it’s too little.
The Food and Drug Administration, after congressional pressure, is now pursuing a plan to address high levels of heavy metals in baby foods. Although the agency has set maximum allowable levels of metals like lead in bottled water, it has not regulated levels of metals in baby and toddler foods, with the exception of arsenic in rice cereal.
But spurred by a congressional report in February that found many of the products made by the country’s largest commercial baby food manufacturers contain significant levels of lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, advocacy groups, members of Congress and outraged parents have urged the agency to act.
The FDA’S plan outlines a multiyear process of evaluating the science, establishing maximum acceptable levels and monitoring manufacturers’ compliance with those levels. These maximum levels will be recommended and voluntary for manufacturers.
“Although action levels are not binding, we have seen that, over the years, our guidance on action levels and other actions have contributed to significant reductions of toxic elements in food,” an FDA spokeswoman wrote in a statement.
Heavy metals can leach into fruits and vegetables from soil or water contaminated by pesticides, fertilizers and other sources. They can also be introduced to baby foods as additives and mineral or vitamin mixes. While pediatricians and nonprofits like Healthy Babies, Bright Futures say levels in individual baby foods do not pose a significant risk, protracted exposure over time can cause lasting neurodevelopmental disabilities in children.
Advocacy groups such as Consumer Reports and Environmental Working Group say the FDA’S
move represents a positive development after years of inaction by the agency on this topic, but they are concerned the plan may not go far enough.
“The agency, for the first time, is treating this issue with seriousness, and now there’s really a clock on the FDA,” said Scott Faber, senior vice president of government affairs for Environmental Working Group, a nonprofit that specializes in research and advocacy around toxic chemicals. “We will know this year whether they are setting limits that protect babies or that protect the baby food industry.”
The movement comes after the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 was introduced in March by chair of the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on economic and consumer policy, Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-ill., along with Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-minn., and Tammy Duckworth, D-ill. The bill would require the FDA to establish separate limits for baby cereal and all other baby foods for cadmium, inorganic arsenic, lead and mercury.
Research shows exposure to even small amounts of heavy metals at an early age may increase the risk of several health problems, especially lower IQ and behavior problems, and has been linked to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
The FDA has a limit of 100 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic in baby rice cereals, but not for other baby foods, nor any limits for other heavy metals in foods made for young children.
The FDA’S announcement, a plan called “Closer to Zero,” intends to draft maximum levels of lead in baby and toddler food by April 2022, and for arsenic by April 2024. The FDA has not announced dates for draft rules for cadmium and mercury, although they intend to gather and examine data. A final ruling on lead levels will be issued by April 2024, with a final arsenic level ruling after that.
Krishnamoorthi says this time frame is too long.
“I think it’s the first time the FDA has taken action on this serious issue, but I have three concerns,” he told The Washington Post. “One is that the timelines for setting the action levels are too long. Two, there are no timelines for cadmium and mercury. And I didn’t see any mention of a requirement that companies test their finished products for these toxic heavy metals or that the companies disclose the results of the tests.”
Many of the major baby food brands named in the congressional report had already come together in 2019 to form the Baby Food Council, aimed at reducing heavy metals in baby foods to as low as reasonably achievable.
Dana Stambaugh, a spokeswoman for Gerber, the largest U.S. baby food company, said, “We welcome the opportunity to collaborate with our nation’s leaders and the FDA on the important mission of making the food supply even safer for infants and young children. Our collaborative efforts to further reduce the levels of heavy metals is already underway as evidenced by our being a founding member of the Baby Food Council.”