Let’s dive deeper into this important topic of dangerous toxins in your baby food.

As a parent, it’s understandable to feel concerned and even alarmed by the recent report that revealed over 95% of baby foods sold in America are contaminated with toxic heavy metals. It’s important to take action to protect your little one from harm, including the toxins in your baby food.

Protecting Your Baby from Dangerous Toxins in Baby Food: Solutions and Strategies

One solution is to make your own baby food at home. While this may sound like a great idea, it’s worth noting that even homemade baby food has been found to contain heavy metal contamination. So, it’s important to be mindful of the specific foods and ingredients you’re using.

Another solution is to choose organic foods, as certain foods are more prone to absorbing heavy metals than others. It’s also important to be aware of specific baby food brands and products to avoid due to toxic heavy metals. For example, rice, sweet potato, and grapes are considered riskier foods, while bananas, apples, beans, peas, milk, and cheese are safer options.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that not all parents have access to organic options or can afford to purchase certain brands of baby food. This is where government agencies and advocacy groups can step in and push for stronger regulations and greater transparency from the baby food industry, helping to reduce the amount of toxins in your baby food.

In addition to these solutions, parents can also take steps to diversify their baby’s diet and incorporate more nutrient-dense options. This can include animal-based products such as egg yolks, beef, and bone broth. By diversifying their diet, parents can provide their babies with a wider range of nutrients and reduce their exposure to heavy metals in certain foods.

Ultimately, it’s up to all of us to take action to protect our children from the harmful effects of toxic heavy metals. By advocating for change, choosing organic options, being mindful of specific brands and products to avoid, and diversifying our baby’s diet, we can help reduce our baby’s exposure to these harmful substances.

These foods from each of these brands contain measurable levels of toxic heavy metals, so avoid feeding them to your baby:

• Earth’s Best:
  Chicken and Brown Rice Turkey
  Red Beans & Brown Rice
  Sweet Potatoes, 1st StageWhole Grain Oatmeal Cereal
  Whole Grain Rice Cereal
  Sunny Days Snack Bars, Strawberry
• Gerber:
  Chicken and Rice
  Turkey and Rice
  Lil’ Meals White Turkey Stew With Rice & Vegetables
  Carrot, Pear, and Blackberry
  Carrots Peas & Corn With Lil’ BitsSingle Grain Cereal
  Organic Oatmeal Cereal
  Gerber Graduates Arrowroot Cookies
  Gerber Graduates Cinnamon Graham Animal Crackers
  Gerber Graduates Banana Cookies
  Gerber Graduates Waffle Wheels Puffed Grain Snack, Banana Cream
  Gerber Graduates Lil’ Biscuits Vanilla Wheat
  Gerber Graduates Cereal Bars, Strawberry Banana
• Parent’s Choice:
  Little Puffs Cereal Snack, Strawberry Apple
• Sprout Organic:
  Garden Vegetables Brown Rice With Turkey
  Quinoa Puffs Baby Cereal Snack, Apple Kale
• Plum Organics:
  Just Sweet Potato Organic Baby Food
  Little Yums Organic Teething Wafers, Pumpkin & Banana
  Mighty Sticks Whole Grain Snacks, Berry Beet
• Beech-Nut:
  Beech-Nut Classics Sweet Potatoes
  Beech-Nut Complete Rice Single Grain Baby Cereal
  Organic Oatmeal Whole Grain Baby Cereal
  Complete Oatmeal Whole Grain Baby Cereal
  Quinoa Crispies, Vanilla
• Baby Mum Mum:
  Banana Rice Rusks
  Vegetable Rice Rusks
• Happy Baby Organics:
  Organic Probiotic Baby Cereal
  Superfood Puffs, Apple & Broccoli
  Superfood Puffs, Purple Carrot & Blueberry

Heavy metal levels in these specific food items were lower (consumed in moderation)

• Gerber:
  Lil’ Entrées Chicken & Brown Rice With Peas & Corn
  Gerber Grabbers Strong Veggies, Broccoli, Carrot, Banana, Pineapple
  Gerber Organic Peas, Carrots & Beets
  Gerber Breakfast Buddies Hot Cereal With Real Fruit, Apple Cinnamon
  Gerber Graduates Puffs Cereal Snack, Strawberry Apple
  Lil’ Beanies Baked Snack Made With Beans, White Cheddar & Broccoli
  Lil’ Crunchies Baked Corn Snack Mild Cheddar
  Lil’ Crunchies Baked Corn Snack Vanilla Maple
  Organic Puffs, Puffed Grain Snack, Apple
• Beech Nut:
  Beech-Nut Classics Apple, Pear & Banana
  Beech-Nut Naturals Carrot, Broccoli, Apple & Strawberry
  Beech-Nut Organic Just Apple & Green Beans
  Beech-Nut Organic Peas, Green Beans, and Avocado
• Happy Baby Organics:
  Purple Carrots, Bananas, Avocados & Quinoa
• Ella’s Kitchen:
  Apples + Strawberries Nibbly Fingers

The Good List (these baby food brands were safe)

• Once Upon a Farm
• Serenity Foods
• Cerebelly
• Fresh Bellies
• Tiny Human Food

Together, we can work towards a safer and healthier future for our babies.

References

1. Hirsch, Jesse. “Heavy Metals in Baby Food: What You Need to Know.” Consumer Reports, www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/heavy-metals-in-baby-food-a6772370847/.
2. LaMotte, Sandee. “FDA Proposes New Levels for Lead in Baby Food, but Critics Say More Action Is Needed.” KCRA, 25 Jan. 2023, www.kcra.com/article/lead-in-baby-food-fda-proposes-new-levels/42641995.
3. Bair, Emily C. “A Narrative Review of Toxic Heavy Metal Content of Infant and Toddler Foods and Evaluation of United States Policy.” Frontiers in nutrition vol. 9 919913. 27 Jun. 2022, doi:10.3389/fnut.2022.919913
4. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “Beech-Nut Nutrition Company Issues a Voluntary Recall of One Lot of Beech-Nut Single Grain Rice Cereal and Also Decides to Exit the Rice Cereal Segment.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/beech-nut-nutrition-company-issues-voluntary-recall-one-lot-beech-nut-single-grain-rice-cereal-and.
5. Miller, Ronald V. “Gerber Baby Food Lawsuits.” Lawsuit Information Center, 9 Jan. 2023, www.lawsuit-information-center.com/gerber-baby-food-lawsuits.html.
6. Zhao, H., Wu, Y., Lan, X. et al. Comprehensive assessment of harmful heavy metals in contaminated soil in order to score pollution level. Sci Rep 12, 3552 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-07602-9
7. Crist, Carolyn. “Report: Homemade Baby Food Contains Toxic Metals, Too.” WebMD, WebMD, 12 Aug. 2022, www.webmd.com/children/news/20220812/homemade-baby-food-contains-toxic-metals.
8. Loria, Kevin. “Baby Food and Heavy Metals: What Parents Should Do Now.” Consumer Reports, www.consumerreports.org/baby-food/baby-food-and-heavy-metals-advice-for-parents-a1523214531/#advice.
9. “The Data-Driven Guide to Healthy Baby Food.” Reduce Babies’ Exposures to Toxic Heavy Metals in Their Diet, www.healthybabyfood.org/sites/healthybabyfoods.org/files/2022-08/BabyFoodTipSheet_ENG.pdf.
10. Wasserman, Gail A et al. “Water arsenic exposure and children’s intellectual function in Araihazar, Bangladesh.” Environmental health perspectives vol. 112,13 (2004): 1329-33. doi:10.1289/ehp.6964
11. Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. “FDA Statement on Testing and Analysis of Arsenic in Rice.” U.S. Food and Drug Administration, FDA, www.fda.gov/food/environmental-contaminants-food/fda-statement-testing-and-analysis-arsenic-rice-and-rice-products.