There's no lead in baby food... is there?

Even homemade baby foods are just as likely as store-bought baby foods to contain heavy metals such as lead, due to their ingredients. — TNS

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) urged food manufacturers in late January (2023) to significantly reduce the amount of lead in processed baby food.

Lead is toxic for anyone, but children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of lead exposure because they are still growing.

Elevated blood levels of lead can cause damage to the brain and nervous system, slow physical and emotional development, and contribute to learning, behaviour, hearing, and speech problems.

Many Philadelphia families are all too aware of the potential dangers of lead poisoning from old, lead water pipes and paints in the region's pre-1970s housing stock.

But you may be wondering: Why is there any lead at all in my baby's food?

"Try not to panic," said Kim Kramer, a clinical dietitian at Nemours Children's Health in Delaware. "I know it sounds scary."

The US FDA's new guidelines aren't in response to a spike in contamination, but rather, are part of an ongoing effort to reduce the amount of heavy metals that have long been in our foods, she said.

Let's get to it.

> Why is there lead in baby food?

Fruits, vegetables, and grains absorb lead through the soil they're grown in.

Soil naturally contains some lead, though contamination from leaded gasoline, exterior lead-based paint and industrial development have raised lead levels in soil.

It's impossible to remove all lead from food, but the US FDA's new guidelines call for food manufacturers to remove as much of it as possible – and ensure that their production processes don't contribute lead.

These guidelines now recommend limiting lead to 10 parts per billion in fruit, vegetable and meat packaged products, such as jars, pouches and tubes.

Dry cereal should have no more than 20 parts per billion of lead.

These limits could lower infant lead exposure by 24% to 27%, the US FDA estimates.

Although there is no safe amount of lead, the amounts that would be found in baby food under the new guidelines are tiny, Kramer said.

Think of it this way: Out of every billion molecules in an apple, 10 may be lead.

The new recommendations are part of Closer to Zero, a US FDA initiative to reduce the amount of lead and other heavy metals specifically in foods consumed by infants and young children.

> Is homemade baby food safer?

Not necessarily.

A 2022 study by US food safety organisation Health Babies Bright Futures found that homemade baby foods were just as likely as store-bought baby foods to contain heavy metals such as lead.

"Even if you're buying organic food from the grocery store, you're going to run into the same problems," said Kate Breznak, a clinical dietitian at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, United States.

Again, that's because lead in food primarily comes from the soil and water used to grow crops.

> What can I do to limit my child's lead exposure through food?

Offer as many different foods as possible.

Metal and toxin levels vary, which is why Breznak and Kramer recommend rotating the foods children eat.

You may consider limiting rice products, as these often contain greater amounts of lead.

Talk to your child's paediatrician if you are concerned about potential lead exposure.

The US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers a blood lead level of 3.5 micrograms of lead per decilitre of blood (μg/dL) concerning.

That's down from a longtime standard of 5 μg/dL – a change intended to more quickly identify children at risk for lead poisoning and remedy the sources of exposure. – By Sarah Gantz/The Philadelphia Inquirer/Tribune News Service