FLORIDA — A storied upstate company has found itself in the middle of an emerging controversy about heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury in baby foods.
Congressional investigators on Thursday issued a report about what they said were “significant levels” of the heavy metals in common baby foods including those from Beech-Nut which is based in Florida, Montgomery County. It was among the basketful of leading food makers that were found to contain the heavy metals.
A U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee had sought internal data from seven baby food companies in 2019 after a non-profit group, Healthy Babies Bright Futures, issue results of their own tests.
Four of the companies: Gerber, Beech-Nut, Earth's Hail Celestial which makes Earth’s Best Organics; and Nurture, which makes Happy Family Organics, shared documents with the subcommittee, according to the Associated Press.
They said Walmart, Sprout Foods and Campbell Soup Co., which makes Plum Organics baby food, didn't provide their internal reports. “The Subcommittee is greatly concerned that their lack of cooperation might be obscuring the presence of even higher levels of toxic heavy metals in their baby food products than their competitors’ products,” stated the subcommittee that conducted the survey.
Beech-Nut in a public statement said that "We want to reassure parents that Beech-Nut products are safe and nutritious. We are currently reviewing the subcommittee report. We look forward to continuing to work with the FDA, in partnership with the Baby Food Council, on science-based standards that food suppliers can implement across our industry."
Other companies offered similar remarks.
Walmart noted that they supplied information about their private label suppliers who sell under their name brand.
Arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury are considered harmful by the federal Food and Drug Administration. They can remain in the environment for decades from pesticide and herbicide use.
These metals, experts said, might be more common in baby foods because of the vitamins and minerals added to those foods during processing and because of rice, which is a common ingredient in many varieties; because rice is grown in water it could have higher levels of arsenic, which dissolves off the soil when it gets wet.
According to Consumer Reports, parents who are concerned should switch to unprocessed fruits and vegetables. The FDA also recommends feeding babies grain as well as rice-based cereals.
Last August, the FDA issued guidance for infant rice cereal, recommending it contain no more than 100 parts per billion of arsenic. The report found that Beech-Nut had some ingredients with as much as 913 parts per billion for arsenic, according to USA Today.
The report was issued by the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on economic and consumer policy. It is chaired by Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi. They recommended that the FDA set standards for the presence of heavy metals in baby foods, with manufacturers testing and publishing results of their tests.
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. has long been a mainstay upstate business, dating to its founding in Canajoharie in 1891, where it started offering smoked ham and bacon.
Beech-Nut later expanded its product line, eventually focusing on baby food. The company moved its main plant from Canajoharie to nearby Florida a decade ago. They are a subsidiary of the Swiss-based Hero Group.
With Associated Press
rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
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