ALBANY, NY—The New York State Legislature last night passed A9026/S8701, legislation that would require infant formula and baby food manufacturers to test their products at least once a month for the heavy metals lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury, and publicly disclose the results on their websites. Consumer Reports (CR) today commended the New York Legislature for taking this critical step to protect the health and safety of the state’s youngest and most vulnerable consumers, and urged Governor Hochul to sign this bill into law.
“New York parents and caregivers deserve to know what is in the infant formula and baby food they feed their children, and today the New York Legislature delivered on that promise,” said Brian Ronholm, Director of Food Policy at Consumer Reports. “This legislation will give parents the information they need to make safe choices for their children. Manufacturers who are already doing the right thing have nothing to fear. We commend Assemblymember Torres and Senator Hinchey for their important work on this issue and urge Governor Hochul to sign this legislation into law without delay.”
CR has repeatedly found concerning levels of toxic elements in infant formulas and baby foods. In March 2025, Consumer Reports published findings from testing 41 infant formulas for lead, arsenic, and other heavy metals, finding that approximately half contained potentially harmful levels of at least one contaminant. A follow-up study in March 2026 of 49 additional infant formula products found similarly troubling results. CR has also identified concerning levels of toxic elements in store-bought baby food.
Those same findings, however, also offer reason for reassurance. Safer options are already on the market—approximately half of the formulas CR tested showed no or low levels of contaminants, proof that manufacturers can produce safer products when they choose to. Safer products include formulas available through the WIC program, providing options for families.
In March, a CR nationally representative survey of 2,212 U.S. adults found that 86 percent of Americans were at least somewhat concerned about toxic elements, such as lead, arsenic, and cadmium in infant formula and baby food. Ninety percent said that manufacturers of infant formula and baby food should be required to regularly test their products for the presence of toxic elements and make the results public.
New York’s legislation follows California’s lead on baby food, where similar testing and disclosure requirements are already in effect, while also extending those same protections to infant formula—an area where no state has yet acted.
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Media Contact: Emily Akpan, emily.akpan@consumer.org