Congress released an investigation thursday showing that manufacturers deliberately sold baby food containing high levels of toxic heavy metals, according to internal documents from four leading U.S. baby food manufacturers.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, chairman of the U.S. House Economics and Consumer Subcommittee, said: "Dangerous levels of toxic metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury in baby food exceed levels allowed by experts and governing bodies. ”
Krishnamoorthi said the spreadsheets provided by the manufacturers were "shocking" because they showed evidence that certain baby foods contain dangerous metals in billions of tenths. He told U.S. media: "We know that in many cases, these metal components in any food should not exceed a few parts per billion. ”
The World Health Organization is concerned that chemical elements that should not be applied to infant food, including arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury, etc.
As natural elements, they are found in the soil where crops grow and are therefore unavoidable. However, certain crop fields and areas contain more toxic levels in part because of the overuse of metal-containing pesticides and ongoing industrial pollution.
Dr Leonardo Trasand, director of pediatrics at NYU Langen, said: "There was a time when we thought metal ingredients were safe and for many years we have used drugs containing metal constituents as the primary pesticide. ”
All of these heavy metals have been found to be associated with cancer, chronic diseases and neurotoxic effects, but the potentially damaging damage to the brains of developing babies makes the toxicity of infant food critical.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet set a minimum amount of heavy metals in most baby foods. Agents do set standard inorganic arsenic in ten parts per billion of infant rice flour, but even that level is considered too high for baby safety, critics say, especially since the FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration) has set the standard for inorganic arsenic for bottled water at ten parts per billion.
Jane Houlihan, National Director of Science and Wellness for a Bright Future for Healthy Babies, said that from conception to age 2, babies are extremely sensitive to neurotoxic chemicals. The organization works to reduce infant exposure to neurotoxicity. chemicals.
"Their brains are forming rapidly, so when they are exposed to metals that can interrupt these natural processes, the scope of their effects includes behavioral problems, aggression, IQ loss, and various cognitive and behavioral deficits that can last a lifetime."
"Babies are ingesting these heavy metals at high doses pound by pound compared to other populations, so the consequences are severe," she said. ”
Internal tests by Gerber, Beech Nut Nutrition, Parenting Company and Hain Celestial Group of Companies have shown that heavy metal levels are well above these levels.
The report said that some baby food products contained 91 times more inorganic arsenic, 177 times more lead, 69 times more cadmium and up to 5 times the allowable mercury in bottled water, but the companies still approved the products for sale.
The Subcommittee found that it did not matter whether baby food was organic or not, but the content of toxic metals was the most important.
U.S. congressional investigators said the baby food companies involved refused to cooperate with the subcommittee's relevant investigations.