Heavy metals found in baby foods

PITTSBURGH — A new study raises some concerns about baby food. Consumer Reports found heavy metals when it conducted several tests of the food being fed to babies across the country. The study said lead, mercury, cadmium and inorganic arsenic could all be found in some foods.

Channel 11 Morning News anchor Katherine Amenta partnered with a Pittsburgh lab to put popular brands of baby food to the test.

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The study tested 50 products from popular brands including Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earth's Best, Parent's Choice and Ella's Kitchen. The results for 34 of the products came back with concerning levels of heavy metals.

We talked to a family in Bethel Park who was surprised to discover some of its baby food appeared on the list.

"We were shocked to see how many baby foods out there that are on the market that have these items in them," said father Dan Snyder.

Channel 11 sat down with the medical director of the Pittsburgh Poison Center at UPMC.  Dr. Michael Lynch detailed how heavy metals can affect your child's health.

"It lingers. It stays for long periods of time," he said.

Lynch said that while the overall risk is low, it's there, and long-term exposure can lead to developmental issues or bladder, lung and skin cancers.

That's why Channel 11 tested local baby food samples from the grocery store and an Earth's Best whole grain oatmeal cereal from the Snyder home. We took them to the Test America lab in Pittsburgh for analysis. A week later, the results were promising, but not without concern. The lab found arsenic in the oatmeal cereal, something Lynch says can happen with rice and oat products.

"The arsenic level was right at where they report it, saying, 'We found it and we think it's adequate enough to report it back to you," Lynch said of our results.

The doctor says a lot of the time arsenic in rice and oats can be naturally occurring and not a danger to humans. But, if it's inorganic arsenic, that's a concern. Test America's lab did not differentiate.

Our Bethel Park family has decided to start making all its baby food from scratch.

"I know exactly what's in his food," said Snyder. "I'm making it. I'm seeing it, and it's not some factory."

We reached out to Earth's Best about our findings and they told us in part, "As a pioneer in organic baby food, we fully appreciate the concern of parents. Please be assured that all of our ingredients are tested to verify that they are below regulatory limits for heavy metals prior to use."

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Cox Media Group