If someone asked you what is the safest food to eat? BABY FOOD would probably be at the top of the list, right?
Well unfortunately, definitely not…
This might be disturbing, but as a parent it’s essential to know the truth regarding baby food products available from most major baby food manufacturers.
The current state of the baby food industry is dire. A recent congressional report found that many high quality baby foods, both organic and non-organic, are contaminated with dangerous levels of heavy metals such as arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. This is particularly worrying given both the World Health Organization and the FDA have concluded that these heavy metals pose a threat to human health and infants. According to a study launched in 2019 about 95% of the baby foods they tested they found toxic metals.
The US Congress’s investigation prompted large baby food companies to voluntarily provide information about their testing guidelines and test results. Four companies responded to the request: Gerber, BeechNut, Hain and Nurture. Hain products are labeled “The Best Organics on Earth ” and Nurture products are labeled “HappyBABY”.
The responses to the Congressional investigation revealed a major problem: all of the companies baby foods had heavy metals in their baby foods. The companies had also routinely ignored their own toxic metal standards AND very few of the companies tested their finished products for toxic metals. Failing to test finished product meant that toxic water that was added to show up in their metal counts.
Exposure to heavy metals is harmful at any age, but babies are particularly vulnerable.
Heavy metals directly impact child development and cause brain damage and lower IQs. It appears that children and infants absorb, store, and deposit more toxic metals in their developing brains than adults exposed to similar amounts. Because of this, according to the FDA, even small amounts from food sources can be a cause for concern. Health problems related to heavy metal exposure include behavioral disorders, cancer, cardiovascular disease, cognitive or mental impairments, and breathing problems.
FDA Standards For Bottled Water For Contaminants
The EPA sets legal limits for more than 90 contaminants in bottled water. The legal limit for contaminants reflects the level that protects human health that water systems can achieve with the best available technology.
- Arsenic – Arsenic is one of the inorganic contaminants regulated under the Phase II/V Rules. In 2001, under the Arsenic Rule, the EPA adopted a lower standard for arsenic in bottled water. The new lower standard is 10 parts per billion (ppb).
- Lead – If lead concentrations exceed an action level of 15 ppb, major actions must be taken to address the contamination.
- Cadmium – The EPA has established a Maximum Contaminant Level of 5 pbb for cadmium in drinking water.
- Mercury – The EPA has set specific guidelines for pollutants such as mercury in drinking water: The MCLG is the highest level of protection based on the best available data to prevent potential drinking water problems. For mercury, both MCLG is 0.002 mg / L or 2 ppb.
Unfortunately, despite all the dangers that heavy metals in our baby food can cause, the FDA hasn’t yet set a standard for heavy metal contamination in baby foods. Per the FDA, new standards will be out in 2024. For at least the next 3 years, baby food will be allowed to have dangerously high levels of heavy metal.
Facts : Heavy Metals Are Found In Baby Foods
Arsenic has been found in Gerber, BeechNut, Hain, and Nurture products.
- Gerber’s ingredients were rich in arsenic. They routinely used rice flour that contained more than 90 ppb of inorganic arsenic.
- BeechNut used additives with more than 300 ppb arsenic. used after testing arsenic levels up to 913.4 ppb.
- Hain sold finished products that contained up to 129 ppb of inorganic arsenic. They also used ingredients that were tested for levels of up to 309 ppb arsenic. Their products continued to sell after tests showed they contained up to 180 ppb of inorganic arsenic
Cadmium has been found in Gerber, BeechNut, Hain, and Nurture products.
- 75% of Gerber’s carrots had cadmium above 5 ppb and some even had 87 ppb.
- BeechNut uses 105 ingredients with greater than 20 ppb cadmium and some tested up to 344.55 ppb cadmium.
- Hain used 102 ingredients that were tested for greater than 20 ppb cadmium and some had as high as 260 ppb cadmium.
- 65% of Nurture’s finished products contained more than 5 ppb cadmium
Lead has been found in Gerber, BeechNut, Hain, and Nurture products.
- Gerber used some ingredients with lead levels up to 48 ppb and many ingredients above 20 ppb lead.
- BeechNut used ingredients with lead levels up to 886.9 ppb. They also used 483 ingredients with more than 5 ppb lead, 89 ingredients with more than 15 ppb lead, and 57 with more than 20 ppb lead.
- Hain has used ingredients with levels of lead up to 352 ppb. 88 ingredients were used containing greater than 20 ppb lead and 6 were used containing greater than 200 ppb lead.
- Almost 20% of Nurture baby food products tested contained more than 10 ppb lead. Nurture has also sold finished products with lead levels up to 641 ppb.
Mercury was found in Nurture products, the only company that actually did the testing for it.
- Gerber rarely tests its products for mercury.
- BeechNut and Hain do not test their products for mercury at all.
- Nurture sold finished products with up to 10 ppb mercury.
How Did This Happen? Why is No One Stopping It?
According to the recent congressional report, the government has not guaranteed the safety of baby food even though it knows the risks. The FDA warns that infants and children are at the highest risk from exposure to toxic heavy metals, but it has not set safety limits for most heavy metals in baby food, although they are regulated in other products. The FDA doesn’t even require a baby food warning label. The Committee in Congress that addressed baby food contamination wants that to change. They advocate mandatory testing of finished baby food products, accurate labeling, the voluntary removal of toxic ingredients, and the FDA setting maximum levels for all heavy metals in baby food. But again, nothing is slated to happen until 2024, at the earliest.
The Solution:
Brilliant Baby Foods™
Brilliant Baby Foods‘ fully-controlled indoor growing system manages every aspect of the vegetable growth cycle.
Our indoor grow system:
- Is not at the mercy of the elements.
- Does not face quality control issues from bugs, soil contaminants, temperature, or poor water availability.
- Does not face quality impacts from delays in moving the crop from the fields, to trucks, to processing factories, etc., resulting in early harvests, lost nutritional value, and poor texture.
- Generates exceptional quality and crop flavor.
Brilliant Baby Foods‘ indoor, zero-soil platform allows us to grow locally, in a 100% controlled-environment. Brilliant accounts for virtually every aspect of the growing cycle. Each plant receives the precise amount of nutrients, water, temperature, humidity, and light to ensure optimal plant growth and optimal nutritional value.
Simply, heavy metals do not belong in baby food products. The risk from heavy metals to developing infants is a known danger. Safeguard your baby by giving them BRILLIANT BABY FOODS, the world’s purest Baby-Superfood.