Monitoring compliance with heavy metals limits in baby food

An investigative committee in the U.S. House of Representatives issued a report in February 2021 showing that many baby foods sold in US supermarkets contained unacceptably high concentrations of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg. These findings led to the development of the Baby Food Safety Act 2021. The Act sets out maximum levels of inorganic As (the most toxic form of As), Pb, Cd, and Hg permitted in baby foods sold in the US (Table 1). Currently, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published action level guidance for industry for inorganic arsenic (iAs) in rice cereals for infants, which is the same level as in the European Union (EU). In response to the Act, the FDA has also outlined the Closer to Zero action plan for baby foods.