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How Baby Food Companies Comply (or not) With California’s Lead Disclosure Law

Feb. 2, 2025
Consumer Reports and Unleaded Kids checked the 30 companies selling in that state to see if they publicly reported levels of heavy metals, as required; few are.

Plum Organics, Once Upon a Farm, Lil' Gourmets and Square Baby are the only makers of infant foods that are highly transparent and voluntarily making their 2024 testing results for heavy metals available publicly, as required by a Calilfornia law -- according to a Consumer Reports study.

Several other companies were in the process of doing so, posted some information on their websites or required lot numbers from consumers – that last tactic apparently in violation of the California law. And a large number appeared to be making no efforts at meeting the new requirement – again, all according to Consumer Reports and its partner in this analysis, Unleaded Kids.

California Assembly Bill 899 on Jan. 1, 2024 required manufacturers of foods intended for children 2 and under who sell in that state to test a representative sample of their baby food products for levels of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury at least once a month. Manufacturers must keep records and provide them to the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) upon request.

The second phase of that law requires that beginning Jan. 1, 2025, manufacturers must disclose on their websites the results of those tests. Those apparently were the public records Consumer Reports and Unleaded Kids scrutinized.

Seven manufacturers—Fresh Bellies, Lil’ Gourmets, Little Spoon, Plum Organics, Ready Set Food, Serenity Kids and Square Baby—indicated to the magazine they sent samples to labs that reported levels 3 parts per billion (ppb) or lower – that’s well below the 6 ppb limit in the California law.

Consumer Reports said Cerebelly and Little Spoon explained that they were going to post 2024 testing results, but their websites required the user to enter a lot number for the product. “This approach is not consistent with the law requiring that the information be publicly available because a consumer must first purchase the product or go to a store and enter each lot number for each product and brand,” Consumer Reports said.

In our original version of this story, Lil' Gourmets also was cited by Consumer Reports for requiring shoppers to enter a lot number for results. But Shibani Baluja, CEO and founder, said that was wrong, and she supplied this graphic from her company's website: 

 

Once Upon a Farm voluntarily reported on products not covered by the law, disclosing results for all products and not just those intended for children younger than 2. Kabrita, an infant formula manufacturer, voluntarily reported results for its infant formula, which is exempt from the law’s requirements.

Eleven companies responded to Consumer Reports’ inquiries but either had no webpage dedicated to providing the results or required lot numbers. Those were Earth’s Best, Fresh Bellies, Ready Set Food, Brainiao Foods, Mission Mighty Me, Beech-Nut, Happy Family, Gerber, Serenity Kids, Else Nutrition and Evivio.

Thirteen neither responded to CR nor had dedicated webpages the magazine could find: Little Bellies, Amara, Holle Baby Food, Bubs, Baby Gourmet Organic, Babys Only, Piko Provisions, Tally, Vinamilk, Yumi, Nature’s Path Organics, Love Child Organics and A2 Milk Co.

Arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury contaminate baby food from the environment -- cadmium and lead are especially common. These toxic elements realistically cannot be eliminated from fruits, vegetables, and grains — essential parts of a diet. Therefore, the goal is to drive the levels of these toxic elements closer to zero – and that’s the title of an FDA initiative.

In commending Plum Organics, Lil' Gourmets, Once Upon a Farm and Square Baby for their transparency, Consumer Reports noted, “This is demonstrating the kind of transparency that builds trust with parents.”

About the Author

Dave Fusaro | Editor in Chief

Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.

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