Voluntary: FDA issues new guidelines to reduce lead levels in baby foods

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/07/fda-lead-baby-food

FDA issues new guidelines to reduce lead levels in baby foods

Guidelines for food manufacturers are voluntary and cover packaged processed food for children under two years old

Anna Betts
Tue 7 Jan 2025 10.24 EST

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued some new voluntary guidelines for baby food manufacturing companies in an effort to reduce levels of lead in some processed baby foods.

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The guidance, which was first proposed two years ago, covers packaged processed foods for children under the age of two years old, and includes foods in jars, pouches, tubs or boxes, and may include ready-to-eat foods like purees, as well as semi-prepared foods like dry infant cereals.

However, the guidance does not cover infant formula, beverages, or snack foods such as puffs and teething biscuits, according to the agency. (Action levels for lead in juices are addressed in a separate draft guidance, the agency said.)

The guidelines are not binding or mandatory for food manufacturers, the agency said, but are rather “intended to encourage manufacturers to maintain lead levels in processed food intended for babies and young children below the action levels”.

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However, Galligan argued that “the agency took too long to act and ignored important public input that could have strengthened these standards”.

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According to the US Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, exposure to lead can seriously harm a child’s health and can cause “well documented health effects”, including damage to the brain and nervous system and slowed growth and development.

Between October 2023 and April 2024, more than 550 children across more than 40 states in the US became sick after consuming cinnamon apple puree and applesauce products that contained elevated levels of lead.

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