Congressman Krishnamoorthi Responds To FDA's New Proposed Levels For Lead in Baby Food

WASHINGTON - Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, who led the Congressional investigation that revealeddangerous levels of toxic heavy metals in baby food during his tenure as Chairman of the Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, issued the following response to the Food and Drug Administration's newly announced draft guidance action levels for lead intended for babies and young children:

"Time and time again, studies have revealed that heavy metals in baby foods endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function. After my multiyear investigation—as set out in two separate staff reports—found that top manufacturers' baby foods are tainted with dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury, I have been pressing the FDA to take the necessary steps to ensure that baby food sold on store shelves is safe and healthy. Although today's announcement comes nearly a year after it was first expected, I am encouraged that the FDA is taking steps in the right direction. As the FDA engages in the rule-making process to complete the implementation of the ‘Closer to Zero' initiative, I strongly urge the agency to consider whether the proposed action levels adequately address the dangers of toxic heavy metals in baby foods, especially considering the lead levels announced today are considerably more lenient than those specified in the bicameral Baby Food Safety Act which I introduced with colleagues based on my investigation's findings."

In March 2021, Congressman Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Senator Amy Klobuchar, Congressman Tony Cárdenas (CA-29), and U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) issued the following statements introduced the Baby Food Safety Act to dramatically reduce toxic heavy metals in baby food, educate parents about the risks, and invest in cutting edge farming technology to reduce any economic barriers to making baby food safe for consumption. The legislation's most notable provisions included:

• Setting maximum levels of inorganic arsenic (10 ppb, 15 ppb for cereal), lead (5 ppb, 10 ppb for cereal), cadmium (5 ppb, 10 ppb for cereal), and mercury (2 ppb) allowed in baby food that manufacturers would have to meet within one year.
• Requiring those levels to be lowered further within two years through FDA guidance, and again after three years through regulation.
• Requiring manufacturers to test their final products – not just ingredients – for toxic heavy metals (ingredient testing significantly underestimates toxic heavy metal levels).
• Requiring manufacturers to post the results of their product testing online twice per year.
• Establishing a public awareness campaign through the CDC to highlight the risks posed by toxic heavy metals in baby food.
• Authorizing $50 million for research on agricultural methods of reducing toxic heavy metals in crops