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A study that found 95 percent of baby food sold in the US contains traces of heavy metals that could harm infants' brain development has come under fire from two groups that call the research "flawed".
The research by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), an alliance of scientists and child safety advocates, tested 168 products from 61 brands for arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury.
It found that 95 percent of the products contained lead, 73 percent arsenic, 32 percent cadmium and 32 percent mercury. At least 25 percent of all the baby food tested from major retailers contained all four, according to the study.
"Even in the trace amounts found in food, these contaminants can alter the developing brain and erode a child's IQ. The impact adds up with each meal or snack a baby eats," the report released on Friday said. "Despite the risks, with few exceptions, there are no specific limits for toxic heavy metals in baby's food."
Charlotte Brody, a registered nurse and national director of HBBF, said that if a baby food or snack contained rice, it tended to test positive for toxins.
Michael Klein, a spokesman for USA Rice, a global advocate for the American rice industry, told China Daily: "The study is pretty deeply flawed. It's not using peer review stuff, and it tries to do a link between IQ and exposure to chemicals which is something that has never been done.
"They rely on some study out of Bangladesh where arsenic levels are 400 times what they are in the US. They make a lot of leaps, and while the issue is something we don't deny and take seriously, this is an alarmist approach to it."
The study analyzed 13 categories of food, including fruits, vegetables cereals, juices and snacks.
Heavy metals are found in soil and water. Crops like vegetables and rice absorb them as they grow.
The tests revealed that 4 out of 7 infant rice cereals contained levels of arsenic that exceed the US Food and Drug Administration's guidance of 100 parts per billion. For this reason, HBBF advised parents to limit rice-based foods from their babies' diets.
Klein hit back: "Rice is the least allergenic of the grains. It's gluten free. It's GMO free, so it's one of the reasons it's frequently recommended as baby's first food because there is less likelihood they'll have allergic reactions."
The Organic Trade Association also played down the results of the study. It told China Daily in a statement: "Providing consumers the safest and cleanest foods is the top priority of every organic farmer and processor, and the organic industry takes the issue of heavy metals in baby foods — and in any food — very seriously.
The organic regulations require that organic producers manage their farms "in a manner that does not contribute to contamination of crops, soil, or water by plant nutrients, pathogenic organisms, heavy metals, or residues of prohibited substances".
The HBBF report said the problem of carcinogens in baby food is decades old. It criticized the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) for having "no enforceable federal safety limit" for heavy metals that are found in infant food and called on them to enact tougher measures.
A spokesperson for the FDA told China Daily in a statement:
"Our work includes actively monitoring levels of arsenic, lead and other elements, which occur naturally in some foods, and working to identify the most effective and feasible ways to reduce exposure to these elements from food. While we have seen progress in this area, more work can be done to further decrease exposures to these elements from foods."
US Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat from New York, called on the FDA to "investigate this new report and finally get a move on something that they said they'd do two and a half years ago, which is study ... toxicity of metals in baby food and take preventative action".
"Parents across the land should be worried about teaching their children ABCs, not worried about what's in their baby's food," he said at a news conference on Sunday.
Nestle, the parent company of Gerber, the leading seller of baby food in the US, did not respond to a request for comment from China Daily.
Gerber did tell Fox News that it regularly tests its food, saying, "Given their natural occurrence in our soil and water, many food safety and agricultural experts suggest it's not feasible to achieve a zero level of these elements."
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