A recent report claimed that 95 percent of baby foods contain toxic heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, lead, or mercury. This alarming finding might have you wondering if you need to toss the jars of baby food in your pantry, or whether it’s time to start making your children’s food from scratch.
The report called on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to set maximum levels of toxic heavy metals allowed in baby foods and require mandatory testing of the finished products.
“Concern over heavy metals in baby food has existed for a long time, and the findings aren’t surprising,” says Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, the Jim G. Hendrick, MD, Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and director of the Division of Environmental Pediatrics at NYU Langone.
Dr. Trasande tells the TODAY show, “Clearly we need better monitoring and testing of the food supply, especially for babies who pound for pound eat more food per body weight, so they have higher exposure, and their developing organs are especially susceptible.”
Read more from TODAY.