The researchers tested 13 types of baby foods – including infant formula, teething biscuits, cereals and fruit juices – from 61 brands selected mainly by parents who volunteered through HBBF’s allied organizations. The parents bought foods from the most popular baby food brands at their local stores and online.
Lead was the most common of the four contaminants, appearing in 94 percent of the baby foods. It was followed by cadmium and arsenic, which showed up in around three-quarters of the baby foods, and then mercury, which was found in around one-third of the infant products.
The four toxic elements are the most common cause of heavy metal poisoning in humans. They occur naturally in the environment but can also find their way into the soil and groundwater via pesticides and improper waste disposal. Here, they can get absorbed by crops and end up in the food supply.
Rice, for instance, is effective at absorbing arsenic, a common pesticide ingredient. In fact, four of the seven rice cereal brands contained inorganic arsenic – the more toxic form of the metal – in levels exceeding the Food and Drug Administration’s recommended limit of 100 parts per billion.
Though only lead, arsenic and cadmium are classified as known or probable carcinogens, studies link all four metals to cancers, such as lung, bladder, stomach, liver and skin cancer. The four metals are also implicated in several brain disorders in children, including brain damage, seizures, convulsions, slurred speech, the swelling of the optic nerve, and learning and behavior disorders such as ADHD.
“The heavy metals interfere with the way the brain is supposed to get wired,” said co-author Charlotte Brody, national director of the HBBF.
While only trace amounts were detected, the researchers said that even low-level exposure can be detrimental to children’s health as these substances build up over time through daily exposure. “Even in the trace amounts found in food, these contaminants can alter the developing brain and erode a child’s IQ,” wrote the researchers.
The team offered practical advice to help offset the effects of heavy metal exposure:
“[That] way your child is not solely dependent on formula and rice cereal, or formula and sweet potatoes,” said King.
Read more reports about food contamination at Products.news.
Sources include:
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