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DENVER -- A Colorado nonprofit claims it found lead and other heavy metals in popular baby food and formulas that may hurt them.
The Denver-based Clean Label Project says they tested 564 baby foods at a third party lab for heavy metals, including lead, cadmium and arsenic, which they then compared to national standards for food safety.
The good news? None of the 91 infant formula samples exceeded the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) acceptable lead levels..
The bad?
"(The) American Academy of Pediatrics, American Medical Association, CDC -- all say that there are no safe levels of lead," according to Clean Label Project's Jackie Bowen.
Right now, states can regulate whats on our grocery shelves -- but the products don't have to list what metals they contain.
These things are not required to be disclosed because they’re not ingredients,” Bowen said.
It's worth noting that the metals are not added to the baby food, as they can come from the farming or manufacturing process during production.
A toxicologist with the Institute of Neurotoxicology & Neurological Disorders told Contact7 that in the last decade scientists have learned that even small amounts of heavy metals are harmful, saying, "kids are small, thus a small exposure means big dose - and subsequent harm to their developing organs, particularly the brain."
The Clean Label Project is hoping for tighter regulations to protect families like Jennifer Jeannot’s, whose baby came to the world prematurely.
“We know the very real risks associated with heavy metals, but it’s a matter of starting to regulate and monitoring these heavy metals when it comes to food," Bowen said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says you can do the following to reduce your baby’s exposure to metals including: serving your baby sliced fruits vs juice, rotating the grains you serve them, checking the tap water they're drinking, breastfeeding (if possible), and avoiding secondhand smoke.
For parents wanting to learn morea bout the baby food and formulas that were tested,click here to check out the lab results done by the Clean Label Project.
