The U.S. Food and Drug Administration set the first federal voluntary limits for how much lead should be allowed in children's food on Monday.
The FDA set the limits at:
- 10 parts per billion (ppb) for fruits, vegetables (excluding single-ingredient root vegetables), mixtures (including grain- and meat-based mixtures), yogurts, custards/puddings and single-ingredient meats.
- 20 ppb for single-ingredient root vegetables.
- 20 ppb for dry infant cereals.
The recommendations don't cover infant formula, beverages or snack foods, such as puffs and teething biscuits.
Despite the limits not being legally binding, the FDA said they could inform actions taken against companies.
"The FDA would consider action levels, in addition to other information, when considering whether to bring enforcement action in a particular case," the agency said.
Are the FDA's lead limits tough enough?
The voluntary limits follow a recent outbreak of lead poisoning in applesauce pouches and are a step forward, but could've been stronger than the draft guidance FDA published two years ago, said Thomas Galligan, principal scientist for additives and supplements at nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest.
"The levels finalized today are unchanged from those proposed two years ago, and FDA seemingly did not revise its approach, leading us to question whether FDA has done enough to maximize protections for children," Galligan said. "We hope that even voluntary levels will motivate industry to change its practices to protect kids."
More disclosures on lead in food
Separately this year, California began requiring QR codes on baby food that link shoppers to websites that show the amount of heavy metals, including cadmium, lead and arsenic.
Parents should pick baby food options with the lowest amount of toxic metals, but still should be careful about reading the levels since it takes high exposure to result in problems such as learning, behavior and attention issues, said pediatrician Chandani DeZure, a medical advisor at parenting website BabyCenter.
"Lower values are better, but overall a diet full of fresh vegetables, fruits, and varied grains, whether store-bought or premade, will be the nutritionally optimal choice," she said.
Still, DeZure said it isn't realistic to expect no toxic metals such as lead in any food.
"A diet with a variety of foods is more important than eliminating certain higher heavy metal foods," she said. "And if you can, try to buy organic. This won’t necessarily reduce exposure to heavy metals, but the fruits and vegetables may have lower levels of pesticides and other chemicals."