One of the many milestones as a parent is watching your baby build a healthy, meaningful relationship with food. But, if you’re feeding your little one jarred baby food, you'd never expect that they contain a hidden health threat. In fact, per a new report from the Environmental Defense Fund there’s an alarming amount of baby food that contains detectable levels of lead.
The study, which evaluated 11 years of data from the Food and Drug Administration – spanning from 2003 to 2013 – discovered lead in 20 percent of baby food samples compared to 14 percent of other foods.
“Overall, 20 percent of 2,164 baby food samples and 14 percent of the other 10,064 food samples had detectable levels of lead. At least one sample in 52 of the 57 types of baby food analyzed by FDA had detectable levels of lead in it,” the study reads.
The worst culprits – where lead was most commonly found – were the following foods:
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Fruit juices: 89% of grape juice samples contained detectable levels of lead, mixed fruit (67%), apple (55%), and pear (45%)
Root vegetables: Sweet potatoes (86%) and carrots (43%)
Cookies: Arrowroot cookies (64%) and teething biscuits (47%)
How Much Lead Is Safe?
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),...
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...no amount of lead exposure is safe. Lead exposure can result in lasting problems with growth and development. Not to mention, damage almost every organ system.
If you’re concerned, get proactive. Reach out to your go-to baby brands and ask them what they’re doing to avoid lead in their products. Gerber, for one, released a statement saying that “our products consistently fall well within the available guidance levels and meet our own strict standards.”
In the statement Gerber explained:
“We know parents may be concerned about a recent report on lead in foods and want to reassure them that Gerber® foods and juices are safe. We follow the best available guidance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and international authorities. Even when there are no external guidelines available as in the case of baby food, Gerber sets internal standards because we know babies need extra care, and we are always working to improve. We test our finished products, and results for over 2,000 samples of Gerber baby foods and juices show our products consistently fall well within the available guidance levels and meet our own strict standards. This includes tests of more than 1000 samples of Gerber juices, of which 100% were below the limit set by the Environmental Protection Agency for drinking water. We work continuously to lower our levels and look forward to collaborating with FDA in their work to further the safety of foods and drinks for children. Parents think about every bite or sip their child takes, and so do we. Gerber only uses ingredients that meet our high quality standards; we regularly check our water quality; we use high quality equipment, and we test our foods and beverages to ensure they fall well within the best available guidance."
Parents with questions can call Gerber’s Parents Resource Center team 24/7 at 1-800-432-0148.
As an alternative, many parents blend their own baby foods fresh.
