Here’s what parents need to know about Consumer Reports’ baby food tests

Lead, arsenic, and cadmium — heavy metals found in the periodic table as well as in the baby and toddler foods CR t… https://t.co/ybqxlcsTfL

— Consumer Reports (@ConsumerReports) 1534413723.0

However, about 68% of the products tested didn’t just have measurable levels of heavy metals, but worrisome levels, and 15 of the foods could pose potential health risks to children who eat just one serving per day, so Consumer Reports suggests parents limit kids’ intake to half a serving.

For example, “all the samples of Beech-Nut Classics Sweet Potatoes, Earth’s Best Organic Sweet Potatoes, and Gerber Turkey & Rice had concerning levels of lead,” Consumer Reports notes.

Here’s what parents need to know:

Most of the products tested are from the two largest baby food manufacturers in the U.S., Beech-Nut and Gerber. Baby Mum-Mum, Earth’s Best, Ella’s Kitchen, Happy Baby, Parent’s Choice (Walmart’s store brand), Plum Organics, and Sprout were also tested.

According to Dickerson, eating these baby foods doesn’t mean a child will get sick, but it may increase their risk for health problems. Genetics and exposure to heavy metals from other sources (like lead paint or contaminated water) also play a role.

The companies producing the baby food tested (including including Sprout, Gerber, Beech Nut, Baby Mum Mum, Parent’s Choice, Happy Baby and Plum Organics) responded to either Consumer Reports, Good Morning America or both, stressing the importance of safety, supporting the guidelines set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and some did note that that heavy metals can be naturally occurring.

Sign the petition

Consumer Reports is calling for government action on this issue and has set up a petition for parents to sign, asking the FDA to set a goal of having “no measurable amounts of cadmium, lead, or inorganic arsenic in baby and children’s food and “limit inorganic arsenic” in certain foods by the end of this year.