Dozens Of Popular US Baby Formula Found To Have 'Potentially Harmful' Levels Of Heavy Metals: Report

A US study found that nearly half of 41 baby formulas tested contained concerning levels of heavy metals, with lead present in almost all samples.

A dozen of baby formulas were found to have heavy metal as per a report by a nonprofit American consumer organisation. (Representational Image)

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Dozens of popular baby formula products in the US have been found to have "potentially harmful" levels of heavy metals. 

American nonprofit consumer organisation, Consumer Reports tested 41 types of baby formula and found about half contained “potentially harmful levels” of at least one contaminant, reported The Independent. 

In particular, the research found that almost all samples contained lead, and eighteen formulas contained 50 to 100 per cent of the "Maximum Allowable Dose Level” for a three-month-old.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment sets the “Maximum Allowable Dose Level” which is considered “the most protective standard available.”

Twenty-one of the formulas tested had little to no detectable heavy metal which included  Enfamil Gentleease, Similac Advance, and Kirkland Signature ProCare from Costco.

However, the products that were found to formula with lead levels approaching the daily limit did not accept the report. One such company, Perrigo said they “can’t corroborate Consumer Reports’s findings.”

Another company, ByHeart said the company’s formula meets U.S. and E.U. safety standards, including California’s Maximum Allowable Dose Levels.

Arsenic Found In Some Products 

Consumer Reports also tested the baby formula for several other contaminants, including arsenic, lead, BPA, acrylamide, and PFAS — also known as “forever chemicals”.

Two formulas were found to have high levels of the "most harmful" kind, the inorganic arsenic. Abbott Nutrition: EleCare Hypoallergenic formula, was tested to have 19.7 parts per billion, and Similac Alimentum, had 15.1 parts per billion.

As per Consumer Reports, The Environmental Protection Agency limits arsenic in municipal drinking water to 10 parts per billion. 

Abbott Nutrition disputes the test results, with a spokesperson noting that the formulas “are safe”. The spokesperson further stated that heavy metals “can be present in low levels in almost anything we eat or drink, including in baby food, all brands of infant formula, fruits and vegetables, and even human breast milk.”

'Better To Have Lower Levels'

While it is virtually impossible to get zero level of lead in baby formula, paediatrics professor Dr. Steven Abrams told Consumer Reports that lower levels are always better. 

Still, there is “no safe level of lead exposure,” said University of Miami neurology professor Dr. Hannah Gardener.

“Babies need to eat,” Gardener said adding that there needs to be plenty of food and "formula choices at the lowest end of the range of contamination." 

The professor advised manufacturers "to do many things" to protect customers including rigorous and repeated testing of their products and disclosing the contamination levels to consumers.