More children’s meals now contain highly toxic metals than 5 years ago, regardless of the company’s efforts to eliminate dangerous contaminants.
A study by Consumer Watchdog tested 14 modern baby meals and compared the levels of lead, arsenic and cadmium in seven of them with results from 2018. Until now, products were selected mainly based on excess metals.
The results confirmed that three products were promoted: Gerber’s Chicken Rice Dinner and Turkey Rice Dinner, as well as Hot Kid Baby Mum-Mum Teething Wafers.
Levels remained identical in one product, the Beech-Nuts Sweet Potato flavor for children’s meals.
Gerber Chicken and Rice and Gerber Turkey and Rice contained higher amounts of metals than the 2018 Consumer Reports findings.
Hot Kid’s Rice Waffles for Mum-Mum Teething also had a larger variety of metals than 5 years ago.
Three of this year’s most dangerous meals include candy potatoes, along with Gerber and beech-nut purees.
A Gerber spokesperson told Consumer Reports, “We work with our farmers to prioritize growing sites for optimal climate and soil conditions, validate fields before planting crops based on soil testing, and rotate plants.”
In addition, we continue to spend money on new analytics to help with future improvements. For example, we are working with state universities to obtain land grants to conduct on-farm analysis to identify soil and cultivar variables that can reduce soil uptake of heavy metals by carrots and potatoes.
Rice can also be the main ingredient in many puffs, which children can eat in large portions to relieve pain.
As many of these meals grow, huge amounts of metals comparable to lead are taken up from the soil. Higher ranges will also be found near highways or small airports, every place where leaded gasoline has been used, Consumer Reports wrote.
Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Days Bars have improved significantly since 2018, with more than 90 percent lead eliminated from the product.
Additionally, in areas where arsenic pesticides have been used, these meals may be at greater risk of picking up this metal.
“Because heavy metals are so ubiquitous in foods and because they tend to accumulate in the body, small exposures can build up from multiple foods,” says Eric Boring, a chemist at Consumer Reports who oversaw the testing.
“Giving a child amounts close to the daily portion limits doesn’t leave much room for exposure to heavy metals from other foods.”
The Center for Disease Control and Prevention The (CDC) warns that younger children who are exposed to lead may experience stunted mind and nervous system improvement.
According to experts, about 2.5% of young people under the age of 5 have been exposed to harmful levels of lead.
As a result, they will have problems with progress, learning, behaviour, listening and speaking.
In addition, arsenic, which was present in many items, is a carcinogen that increases the risk of bladder, lung and pore and skin cancer.
It is also associated with neurodevelopmental problems and better infant mortality rates.
Last year, one Report The author of Healthy Babies tested 168 completely different baby foods for the presence of toxic metals.
159 of them, or 95 percent, were toxic metals comparable to lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury
The majority of these items, 88pc, have no actionable advice for these toxic metals.
In 2018, products made from rice, sweet potatoes and carrots were the biggest risk of heavy metals. This year’s results suggested that sweet potatoes and rice were the worst.
Only three items actually improved between 2018 and 2023.
For example, mom and dad were advised to let their kids eat just one serving of Earth’s Best Organic Sunny Day Snack Bars in 2018.
This year, they were the lowest-risk meals on the checklist, rising to 4.5 servings a day.
Consumer Reports wrote that the lead content for this product has decreased by 91 pc
Two flavors of Happy Baby Organics Superfood Puffs – Apple & Broccoli and Purple Carrot & Blueberry – showed modest improvements from one serving to 1.5 servings.
a in a study published last year Florida State University researchers found that lead poisoning has robbed Americans of an average of 2.6 IQ points, mostly from gasoline.
In January, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recommended limits on the amount of lead in children’s meals.
The company said lead should be limited to 10 parts per billion (ppb) in fruit, some greens and yogurt, and 20 ppb in root vegetables, along with carrots, beets and potatoes, and dry breakfast cereals.
Lead is toxic to children at about 10 mcg/dl. According to the CDC, there is no safe level of lead for children.
