(WWJ) - Baby foods on grocery store shelves are under fire over potential dangers inside, and a Michigan leader is fighting for change.
Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined in on a coalition of 22 attorneys general to petition the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to accelerate actions to remove toxic heavy metals found in infant and toddler foods.
This coalition comes from the alarm around the health hazards posed by these toxic metals, and the failure of baby food brands and their suppliers to reduce these hazards.
“There is no population more vulnerable than infants and toddlers, and action must take place swiftly to ensure that foods designed for growing children are safe to eat,” Nessel said. “I join my colleagues in urging the FDA to recognize the potential harm here and respond accordingly.”
Included in the petition are requirements to propose science-based, achievable interim limits for inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury found in infant and toddler foods. There is also a lower limit set for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal and a requirement for baby food manufactures to test their finished products for toxic heavy metals.
The coalition of attorneys general urge the FDA to take these actions no later than April 2022 which is the shortest timeframe for requesting FDA action on a petition under the agency’s regulations.
The findings of these high levels of toxic heavy metals – including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury – were determined by the U.S.
House of Representatives’ Oversight and Reform Committee’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy in a February 2021 report. At least four of the nation’s seven largest baby food manufacturers are targeted in the report, including Gerber and Beech-Nut.
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Although bottled water, juice and candy are required by the FDA to set limits on toxic metals in their products, baby food is not included.
The FDA has only established just one action level for one type of heavy metal—inorganic arsenic—in one type of baby food product which was an infant rice cereal. This lack of regulation is concerning considering the fact that the FDA has concluded that babies’ and young children’s smaller body sizes and metabolisms make them more vulnerable to the harmful neurotoxic effects of heavy metals.
This past April the FDA introduced their “Closer to Zero plan,” which proposes guidance on limiting lead in baby food by the middle of 2022, arsenic by April 2024 and cadmium and mercury sometime after April 2024.
This new petition is seeking action to have these limitations arrive more swiftly than the “Closer to Zero” deadlines.