Baby Food Toxic Metals Lawsuit

A growing number of parents have filed lawsuits for babies who developed autism after eating baby food that was tainted by toxic metals.

What You Can Do & How We Can Help

The Schmidt Firm, PLLC is currently accepting baby food induced injury cases in all 50 states. If your child was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder after eating baby food that was contaminated with toxic metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, or mercury, you should contact our lawyers immediately for a free case consultation. Please use the form below to contact our Product Liability Litigation Group or call toll free 24 hours a day at (866) 920-0753.

UPDATE: State Officials Ask FDA to Get Toxic Metals Out of Baby Food ASAP

In October 2021, state officials in 23 states filed a petition asking the FDA to act faster to set limits on heavy metals in baby food, like lead, cadmium, mercury and inorganic arsenic. The petition also wants manufacturers to test finished baby food for heavy metals, not just the ingredients. Click here to read more.

95% of Tested Baby Foods in the U.S. Contain Toxic Metals

What is the Problem?

Toxic metals like arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium can be found in many popular baby foods (especially products with rice, sweet potatoes, carrots or fruit juice). All of these toxic metals are linked to lower IQs and brain damage in children.

Exposure to toxic metal in baby food poses a serious health risk — including autism — but most parents are clueless about what they are actually feeding their babies because the manufacturers do not provide any warning labels whatsoever, and they rarely issue recalls.

Baby Food Recalls in 2021

Does Baby Food Contain Toxic Metals?

Baby foods are commonly tainted with dangerous levels of toxic metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury, which are known to lower IQ and cause irreversible brain damage. In recent years, studies have found a link between autism and toxic metal exposure.

Source: Exposure to Aluminum, Cadmium, and Mercury and Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis: Rosalind Sulaiman, Meng Wang, and Xuefeng Ren. Chemical Research in Toxicology 2020 33 (11), 2699-2718

Why Is There Toxic Metal In Baby Food?

Toxic metals in the environment are absorbed by plants, such as rice, which are used in baby food. Metals are frequently found in baby food because of contaminated water or soil and the use of pesticides.

Unfortunately, metals do not degrade. It is very difficult to eliminate metals from the environment once they have contaminated the land.

Farmland may be contaminated with heavy metals due to the use of certain fertilizers or pesticides, mining activities, watering crops with sewage sludge, growing food on land where chemicals were dumped, or in areas downwind from industrial sites spewing toxins into the air.

How Does Arsenic Get Into Rice?

Arsenic is found naturally in soil and water, with higher amounts in some parts of the world. Unfortunately, arsenic pollution has been rising due to human activities like mining and industrial waste. The problem is that arsenic drains into groundwater, where it gets into water supplies that are used to flood paddy fields where rice is grown. Over time, arsenic can accumulate in the soil of a paddy field, making the problem worse. Rice plants can also absorb a lot of arsenic.

Baby Food Toxic Metals List – Which Brands?

Nurture (HappyBABY Puffs)
Hain Celestial Group, Inc. (Earth’s Best Organic)
Campbells (Plum Organics)
BioKinetics
Healthy Times
Beech-Nut
Walmart (Parent’s Choice)
Sprout Foods, Inc. (Sprout Organic Foods)
Gerber
Kitchdee Organic

Healthy Babies (HBBF) Report

Healthy Babies & Bright Futures (HBBF) is a group of scientists, nonprofits and donors who support initiatives to reduce the amount of neurotoxic chemicals that children are exposed to. In 2019, HBBF conducted a study that found 95% of tested baby foods contained toxic metals that can harm brain development — including lead, inorganic arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. Tests found that rice-based baby food, sweet potatoes, and fruit juices had the highest risk for neurotoxic harm.

No Level of Toxic Metal Is Safe For A Baby

Babies are far more vulnerable to the harmful effects of heavy metal poisoning in baby food because they absorb significantly more than an adult. Even low-level exposure to heavy metals at an early age can damage brain development, lower IQ, and increase the risk of cancer. Toxic heavy metals also accumulate in the kidneys and other organs.

United States Congressional Report

In October 2021, a congressional subcommittee report found that some baby foods made by Gerber and Beech-Nut were not recalled after they tested positive for high levels of heavy metals, according to the report.

The House report found that some baby foods contained 91-times the acceptable level of arsenic in bottled water, 177-times the limit of lead, 69-times the limit on cadmium, and 5-times the limit on mercury.

The Subcommittee’s investigation proved that commercial baby foods often contain dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium, which pose serious health risks to babies and toddlers, and yet they are rarely recalled:

“Manufacturers knowingly sell these products to unsuspecting parents, in spite of internal company standards and test results, and without any warning label whatsoever.”

List of Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism
Asperger’s Syndrome
Rett Syndrome
Childhood Disintegrative Disorder
Kanner’s Syndrome
Pervasive Developmental Disorder

What is Autism?

Autism Spectrum Disorder is a complicated developmental disability that affects verbal and non-verbal communication and social interactions. There is no one type of autism, but it commonly causes deficits with social skills and communication, repetitive behaviors, narrow interests, and sensory issues.

Defining Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism is considered to be “on a spectrum” because every individual expresses the symptoms differently. For example, many people with high-functioning autism have above-average intelligence and excel in skills like math or the arts, while other individuals with autism are non-verbal and unable to live independently due to severe disabilities.

Signs & Symptoms of Autism

Avoids eye contact
Prefers being alone
Social awkwardness
Delay in learning to speak
Trouble understanding other people’s feelings
Repeating words
Being very upset by minor changes in routine or surroundings
Limited interests
Repetitive behaviors (flapping hands, rocking, twirling, etc.)
Sensitive to loud sounds, smells, tastes, textures, etc.

Lead Poisoning

Lead is toxic for everyone, but the greatest risk is for children under 6 years old because their bodies absorb lead more easily. Even low-level exposure to lead can cause serious neurological and behavior side effects, including reduced IQ, reduced attention span, and learning disabilities.

Do I have a Baby Food Toxic Metals Lawsuit?

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