A comprehensive new study has revealed that about 95 percent of most baby foods come with heavy toxic metals. The report shows that most of the brands which were tested were found to contain some amount of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Apart from concerned parents, Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY), took notice of the report and has urged the FDA to take appropriate measures.
The group of researchers examined a total of 13 different types of food meant for babies which included teething biscuits, infant rice cereals, meat jars, mixed fruits and veggies, fruit juice, etc. The group of researchers collected a sample of such baby foods from a total of 14 different metropolitan zones in the US. The tests were run on 168 different containers of baby foods which were collected from different retailers like supermarkets and baby stores. The tests revealed that 94 percent of the baby foods, which belonged to 61 different brands, contained lead in them. The tests also revealed that 73 percent of the baby foods contained Arsenic, 75 percent had traces of cadmium while mercury was found in 32 percent.
The tests revealed that more than a quarter of all the samples contained all of the abovementioned metals in the processed baby foods. However, the researchers also added that most of the toxic metals are naturally present in soil and water. High amounts of such contaminants may be the result of industrial contamination, wide use of fertilizers and pesticides, etc. The report calls for a more active measure taken by the health agencies to prevent the contamination of baby foods with such toxic metals that are dangerous for growing babies.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has written on its website that “Protecting children from exposure to lead is important to lifelong good health. No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement. And the effects of lead exposure cannot be corrected.”
Steve Lopez is the Editorial Page Editor for News Raise. He covers Health. He has won more than a dozen national journalism awards for his reporting and column writing at seven newspapers and four news magazines.
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