New bill aims to limit harmful heavy metals found in baby food
Source: CNN Health
Updated 1:39 PM EDT, Thu May 9, 2024
CNN — US lawmakers have introduced a bill that aims to limit the amount of heavy metals found in baby food through stronger regulation and enforcement by the US Food and Drug Administration. Heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury can be toxic to everyone, but exposure is especially dangerous for babies and toddlers. The neurotoxins can permanently damage developing brains, potentially causing long-term intellectual and behavioral problems.
Multiple reports in recent years have detailed concerning levels of these contaminants in foods manufactured for babies and toddlers. A 2019 report from the advocacy group Healthy Babies Bright Futures said that 95% of baby foods from major manufacturers contained lead and a quarter of the foods contained all four heavy metals. And in 2021, an investigation by the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy found levels of heavy metals in baby food that were far above the limits set for bottled water.
Still, the FDA has set limits for heavy metals in only two baby foods: infant rice cereal and juice. And the standard set for rice cereal in 2020 – limiting inorganic arsenic to 100 parts per billion – was 10 times higher than the standard set for bottled water. The federal agency released draft guidance that would limit the amount of lead allowable in many popular baby foods early last year but hasn’t formally set any additional limits.
The Baby Food Safety Act of 2024, introduced on Thursday, would direct the FDA to develop maximum allowable limits for toxic heavy metals found in baby food more broadly. It would set standards for testing of the final food products and allow the FDA to monitor these standards through access to the records of food suppliers and manufacturers.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/09/health/baby-food-heavy-metals-legislation-wellness/index.html
= new reply since forum marked as read
...would there be heavy metals found in baby food...?
...can't we produce food without heavy metals...?
...unbelievable...
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