Earth’s Best, Once Upon a Farm, and Plum Organics earn top scores, Consumer Reports offers tips for parents
YONKERS, NY – A new investigation by Consumer Reports and Unleaded Kids identifies which baby food companies are doing a good job publicly disclosing the level of toxic elements in their products and those that are failing to make that information accessible to the public, as required by California law for products offered for sale in the state. The report finds that some brands are making strides toward full transparency, but the industry has a long way to go toward providing meaningful comparative information that’s easy for consumers to access.
“California’s landmark law empowers parents across the country to compare different baby food brands, so they can find safer options for their children,” says Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports. “While some companies are doing a good job making this critical information readily available, we found that other brands don’t have any test results on their websites or make it unnecessarily challenging for parents to access.”
CR launched a petition today calling on popular baby food makers and store brands, including Albertsons, Aldi, Kroger, Target, and Walmart, to make it easier for parents to access their heavy metal test results in a user-friendly way.
Numerous studies have found concerning levels of toxic elements like lead and arsenic in store-bought baby food, including two separate investigations by Consumer Reports in 2018 and 2023. Exposure to toxic elements such as lead can lead to potentially harmful health conditions because even low levels accumulate over time, including anemia, kidney damage, developmental and neurological delays, nervous system damage, reproductive toxicity, and cancer. Babies are especially vulnerable to exposure to toxic elements in food because they eat more each day relative to their body mass when compared with adults, therefore the accumulation of toxic element exposure is potentially greater during a time of rapid growth and development.
Beginning in January 2024, California’s law (AB 899) requires all baby food manufacturers to test their products at least once a month for lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Starting this year, companies selling their products in California must make those test results publicly available on their websites and through QR codes on the product labels. The law covers baby food, snacks, and supplements for children under 2 but does not cover infant formula. Similar laws have passed in Maryland and Virginia, and a related bill is expected to be signed into law in Illinois. Another similar bill has been introduced in Pennsylvania (HB507).
Highest-Rated Brands: Of the 39 baby food brands examined by CR and Unleaded Kids, 16 companies have tested their products for arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury and are providing straightforward access to their test results on their websites: Brainiac Foods, Cerebelly, Earth’s Best, Fresh Bellies, Gerber, Kendamil, Lil’ Gourmets, Mission MightyMe, Nestum/Cerelac, Nurture Life, Once Upon a Farm, Plum Organics, Pumpkin Tree, Square Baby, Stonyfield Organic, and White Leaf Provisions.
Middle of the Pack: 21 brands received lower ratings because they require consumers to track down additional information, including best-by dates, lot numbers, or UPCs (unique serial numbers), making the process of accessing test results on their websites more difficult for busy parents: Amara, Babylife Organics, Baby Mum-Mum, Beech-Nut, Else Nutrition, Good & Gather Baby (Target), Happy Baby Organics, Holle, Kekoa Foods, Little Bellies, Little Journey (Aldi), Little Spoon, Love Child Organics, O Organics (Albertsons), Parent’s Choice (Walmart), Puffworks, Ready Set Food, Serenity Kids, SimpleTruth (Kroger), Sprout Organics, and Yumi.
Requiring consumers to type in lots of digits to access test results not only is tedious but also introduces a higher potential for mistakes. Consumers may also have difficulty finding the lot number on a product, which is not usually in a standard location, unlike a UPC.
Lowest-Rated Brands: Two companies don’t have any heavy metal test results publicly accessible on their websites: Loco Bebé and Piko Provisions.
“Public disclosure of toxic elements in baby food helps parents make safer choices and pushes manufacturers to reduce dangerous contaminants in their products,” says Tom Neltner, national director of Unleaded Kids. “We need to make sure that all companies are complying with the law and making this vital information easy to access and understand, so parents and caregivers can find out how the brand they feed their baby stacks up.”
What consumers can do
Seek out companies that prioritize transparency. Before you shop, look for brands that clearly list test results for products on their website. Some have “AB 899” in their site footers; others may have a page dedicated to safety or transparency. When you are shopping in a store, you should be able to find a scannable QR code on the back of the product packaging, whether it’s an individual pouch, jar, or a boxed set.
Look for the lowest possible levels of toxic elements. Lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are found in many foods, making them hard to avoid altogether. “The goal is to drive how much your baby is consuming closer to zero,” says Neltner. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), multi-ingredient baby food blends may be a good option over single-ingredient purées, because they increase dietary variety, which can help lower the risk of exposure to toxic elements.
Keep in mind that “not detected” doesn’t mean zero. Some brands may list their test results as “too low” to be detected, using the term “non-detect” or ND. But an ND result doesn’t necessarily mean the absence of heavy metals. Because the law requires testing only down to 6 ppb, a company could list a result as “ND” for anything under that threshold, without being more specific. “That puts even more burden on the consumer to look up what the ND means,” says Neltner.
Take serving size into consideration. When looking at testing results, you’ll see brands report results in parts per billion (ppb), which is a ratio, not an amount. While being able to view ppb levels can make it easier for parents to make comparisons, note that ppb doesn’t take serving size into account.
Know that homemade baby food may not be lower in toxic elements. It’s difficult to avoid toxic elements in baby food that you make at home, and both homemade and store-bought baby foods carry the risk of containing heavy metals, according to experts.
See Best Baby Food Companies for Reporting Lead, Arsenic, and Other Toxic Elements for more detailed findings and additional tips for parents on how to reduce heavy metal exposure in baby food.
Media Contact: Michael McCauley, michael.mccauley@consumer.org