Is There a Toxic Baby Food Class Action Lawsuit?

Yes. A U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a report in February 2021, finding many baby foods contain elevated levels of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury.

Since the groundbreaking report was released, a number of baby food class action lawsuits and individual baby food lawsuits have been filed against Gerber, Beech-Nut, Nurture (Happy BABY brand), Hain (Earth’s Best Organic brand), Campbell (Plum Organics brand) and Sprout Organic Foods.

The toxic baby food cases all raise similar allegations that the baby food manufacturers knew or should have known the baby foods contained heavy metals, and put profits over children’s safety by failing to thoroughly test, limit and report the levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury in baby food products.

Many of the plaintiffs claim that if information about the toxic heavy metals had been provided, and the potential health risks, many parents would have likely chosen another baby food to feed to their vulnerable infants, which may have avoided numerous developmental disorders.

Toxic Baby Food Lawsuit Updates 2024

• January 2024 Update: As the number of toxic baby food lawsuits continue to be filed by families across various U.S. District Courts, a group of plaintiffs have filed a motion to transfer (PDF) with the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML), requesting the claims to be consolidated and centralized before one judge for coordinated discovery and pretrial proceedings.
• May 2022 Update: Judge Amy D. Hogue of the California Superior Court for Los Angeles County approved expert scientific evidence that created a general causation conclusion that lead, arsenic, and mercury can be a substantial factor in causing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
• March 2022 Update: U.S. District Judge James Donato denied a motion filed by Walmart Inc. to dismiss a baby food class action lawsuit, stating plaintiff’s have standing to sue because Walmart charged a premium for its Parent’s Choice baby food that was advertised as healthy, when it is said to contain toxic heavy metals.

Toxic Baby Food Lawsuit Criteria

Our law firm is actively investigating baby food autism lawsuits and baby food ADHD lawsuits for children who consumed any of the following products for a combined period of at least one year;

• Nurture (HappyBABY brands)
• Beech-Nut Nutrition Company
• Gerber
• Hain (Earth’s Best Organic Brand)
• Campbell (Plum Organics Brand)
• Sprout Foods and Sprout Organic Food

And were diagnosed with;

• Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) between ages of 2 and 14 (or)
• ADHD between ages of 8 and 14

Are there costs to hire a toxic baby food lawyer?

There are absolutely no out-of-pocket costs to review your case or our toxic baby food lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. Potential claims are evaluated for individuals throughout the United States, and all cases are handled on a contingency fee basis. This means you pay nothing up front to hire our product liability lawyers, and we only receive an attorney fee or expenses if a baby food lawsuit payout is obtained.

Through the use of contingency attorney fees, individuals have access to the experience and resources of our national law firm for baby food lawsuits – regardless of their individual financial resources.

Request a free consultation and toxic baby food injuries lawsuit review online or call 1-800-522-0102 to get started. There are no attorney fees or expenses unless you win a settlement or recovery!

Congressional Report Reveals Heavy Metals in Baby Foods

The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a report titled Baby Foods are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury in February 2021, finding many major baby food brands contain dangerous levels of heavy metals and toxins that have been linked to neurological disorders including Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Specifically, the report revealed baby food manufacturers including Gerber, Beech-Nut, Nurture (Happy BABY brand), Hain (Earth’s Best Organic brand), Campbell (Plum Organics brand) and Sprout Organic Foods contained dangerous levels of heavy metals including;

• Inorganic arsenic
• Lead
• Cadmium
• Mercury

The House report warned certain contaminated baby food products contained more than 91 times the maximum level of arsenic allowed in bottled water; 177 times the allowable levels of lead, 69 times the limits on cadmium, and five times the levels of allowable mercury.

The exposure to toxic heavy metals in baby food has raised serious safety concerns about the long-term risk of autism and other health problems that may result from the toxic baby foods.

What baby foods have toxic heavy metals?

The House report found many of the baby foods with heavy metals included infant rice cereal, infant rice puff snacks, carrots and oatmeal cereal that were labeled as organic baby foods. The Congressional report found the following baby food brand names to contain elevated levels of heavy metals;

Baby Food Brands With Arsenic

• Nurture (HappyBABY) baby foods contained as much as 180 parts per billion (ppb) inorganic arsenic.
• Hain (Earth’s Best Organic) sold finished baby food products containing as much as 129 ppb inorganic arsenic.
• Beech-Nut used ingredients after they tested as high as 913.4 ppb arsenic.
• Gerber baby food ingredients tested for over 90 ppb inorganic arsenic.

Baby Food Brands With Lead

• Nurture (HappyBABY) sold finished baby food products that tested as high as 641 ppb lead.
• Beech-Nut used ingredients containing as much as 886.9 ppb lead.
• Hain (Earth’s Best Organic) used ingredients containing as much as 352 ppb lead.
• Gerber used ingredients that tested as high as 48 ppb lead.

Baby Food Brands With Cadmium

• Beech-Nut used 105 ingredients that tested over 20 ppb cadmium.
• Hain (Earth’s Best Organic) used 102 ingredients in its baby food that tested over 20 ppb cadmium.
• Nurture (HappyBABY) finished baby food products contained more than 5 ppb cadmium.
• Gerber’s carrots contained cadmium in excess of 5 ppb, with some containing up to 87 ppb cadmium.

Baby Food Brands With Mercury

• Nurture (HappyBABY) sold finished baby food products containing as much as 10 ppb mercury

How do heavy metals get in baby food?

Toxic metals enter baby food products primarily through the ingredients used. Many popular baby foods use organic and natural ingredients such as rice and plant based ingredients that absorb metals naturally occurring in the soil and water.

While some manufacturers claim they test ingredients used in baby food products for heavy metals, often times the final products may not be tested for these metals after they have mixed and processed. Without final testing to ensure safe levels of heavy metals, consumers are reliant upon the manufacturers labeling and could be purchasing baby foods with toxic metal contamination.

Baby Food Heavy Metals Side Effects

Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not set allowable limits on the presence of toxic heavy metals in baby food products. However, the agency warns all four of the toxic heavy metals found in baby food have been linked to deleterious effects for that can impact children’s health and their developing brain.

The FDA has maintained that exposure to these toxic elements can lead to health, behavioral, cognitive, and development issues, which may cause decreased standardized test scores, academic achievement, future criminal activity and the development of other diseases such as attention deficit and hyperactivity disorders.

Can heavy metals in baby food cause autism?

Autism is a serious developmental disorder that impacts the nervous system and impairs the ability to communicate and interact.

According to a study published in the journal Nature Communications in 2017, the National Institute of Health suggests early-life exposure to heavy metals such as lead may have a direct impact on the risk of a child being diagnosed with autism.

Can heavy metals in baby food cause ADHD?

ADHD often develops in childhood and is a chronic condition causing attention difficulty, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness.

According to a study published in the journal Environmental International, researchers found children exposed to both low and high levels of arsenic had increased risk of developing ADHD. The study also found children with ADHD were also frequently exposed to Cadmium. Researchers noted children frequently exposed to Cadmium had a higher risk of developing autism.

Baby Food Safety Act of 2021

Following the Congressional report, Senators and representatives introduced The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, in an effort to set regulatory limits on the presence of arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in baby food products.

The legislation would require the FDA to set limits of 10 parts per billion (ppb) of inorganic arsenic in baby food, and 15 ppb for cereal. It would also set a limit of 5 ppb (10 ppb) for cereal) for lead; 5 ppb (10 ppb for cereal) for cadmium; and 2 ppb for all baby food, including cereal, for mercury.

If passed into law, the baby food industry would be required to be lower the levels of toxic metals in two years via FDA guidance, and again after three years. Manufacturers would have to meet these levels within one year of passage.

In addition, the bill would require manufacturers to post results of testing for these heavy metals in their baby food products online at least twice per year, and would establish a public awareness campaign through the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about the risks of toxic metals in baby food, and would allocate $50 million for research on how to reduce the presence of toxic heavy metals in baby food through agricultural means.

Does Your Family Qualify For a Toxic Baby Food Settlement?

The personal injury lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. provide free consultations and case evaluations to help individuals review the legal options that are available to them. After contacting our office toll-free at 1-800-522-0102 or requesting a free case review online, the facts and circumstances surrounding your potential heavy metals baby food case will be reviewed and evaluated by our lawyers.

If it is determined that you or a loved one may be eligible for financial compensation or a settlement, it is your decision whether to hire our law firm. All toxic baby food lawsuits are handled by our experienced product liability layers under a contingency fee agreement, which means that there are never any fees or expenses paid unless we are successful in obtaining a settlement or other recovery in your case.

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