Heavy Metals Found in Packaged Baby Foods

BOSTON (CBS) – A recent study showed traces of pesticide in oat cereals, and now concerns are being raised about traces of heavy metals in baby and toddler foods. Consumer Reports’ Food Safety Team analyzed 50 popular packaged baby and toddler foods like baby cereals, snacks, and pureed fruits and veggies and found that every product had measurable levels of at least one heavy metal like cadmium, arsenic or lead.  Two-thirds of the samples had worrisome levels of at least one metal and organic foods were no better. Over time exposure to heavy metals could be harmful to kids’ cognitive development, but Consumer Reports says there are some things that parents can do to minimize a child’s exposure:  Limit the amount of infant rice cereal your baby eats because rice tended to have higher levels of heavy metals, limit packaged snacks for young kids, choose whole foods whenever possible, and limit fruit juices.
Source: WBZ-TV - Breaking News, Weather and Sports for Boston, Worcester and New Hampshire - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Boston News Health Healthwatch Seen On WBZ-TV Syndicated Local Baby Food Dr. Mallika Marshall Local TV Source Type: news