Heavy Metals Were Discovered In Popular Baby Food, And How Did This Even Happen?

Mothers have a lot to worry about as is, but now, there’s a brand new reason to panic. Something dangerous was found in pretty much every major baby food — so you might want to start pureeing your own. There have been rumors about heavy metals in baby food for awhile, but it’s actually a much bigger problem than you think.

First thing’s first — just because it says organic, that doesn’t mean it’s safe. Popular brands like Gerber, Sprout, and Plum Organics were all listed as including heavy metals, and in some cases, arsenic. It wasn’t just meals that were tested, but snacks as well. Know that container of puffs your baby likes? Yep — those were included in the study.

In total, Consumer Reports analyzed 50 foods and snacks for babies and toddlers. According to Delish, the research — which was conducted by Consumer Reports’s food safety team — lumped baby products into four different categories. Packaged fruits and vegetables were one category, with the others being cereal, entrees, and snacks. So pretty much everything you’d find in the baby aisle at the grocery store.

As they’re two of the biggest brands, Beech Nut and Gerber were looked at quite closely. But less popular brands — including Ella’s Kitchen, Earth’s Best, and Happy Baby — were also included in the lineup.

The findings were astounding. It’s one thing to know that we’ve been snacking on tainted food, but to know that we’ve been giving it to babies is even more upsetting.

It’s hard to avoid metals altogether. I mean, two-thirds of the foods researched contained an alarming amount of them, proving that they’re unfortunately common. Fifteen of the products tested were deemed dangerous with just once-a-day daily use. Delish reports that three of those were the pre-packaged Gerber Chicken & Rice, Beech-Nut Classics Sweet Potatoes, and Happy Baby Organics Superfood Puffs in the Apple & Broccoli flavor. In general, any of the entrees or snacks containing rice were the absolute worst, so you might want to double-check your cabinets.

Now, you’re probably wondering how these metals end up in our food in the first place. And according to Natural News, it all goes back to our industrial farming practices that contaminate our soil and waterways. Touchstone Essentials adds that pesticides and herbicides, which are used on non-organic food, also contain heavy metals that end up in anything we harvest. Even the FDA admits that eliminating metals from our food supply is not always possible, since plants can take them in from the air, water, and soil.

Being a parent is hard work, so it’s a shame that even the act of feeding your child has gotten much more difficult. You might feel more in control by making your own food. Apples and applesauce are notorious for not containing many heavy metals, so that may be your best start.