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The Link Between Baby Food and Autism
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In 2021, an investigation from the U.S. House of Representatives reported traces of heavy metals in dozens of baby food products—some from major brands like Gerber and Beech-Nut. According to the U.S. House Oversight Committee on Economic and Consumer Policy, many of the foods tested contained “dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium.”
The investigation was conducted after a 2019 non-profit study from Healthy Babies Bright Futures found heavy metals in nearly 168 baby food products. 95% of baby foods tested were found to contain lead.
But how do heavy metals in baby food share a potential connection with Autism? Though science primarily suggests Autism is caused by genetics, decades of research have shown that exposure to environmental factors—like chemical pollution—could also play a role, even for a short while after birth.
The impact of heavy metals on brain development
For over 50 years, researchers have identified a strong link between childhood exposure to heavy metals and problems with brain development. In 1979, a landmark study from The New England Journal of Medicine discovered that children with high levels of lead in their bodies received significantly worse test scores on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children than students with low lead levels.
Dozens of studies from around the world have concluded similar findings since that initial study. In 2005, an international pooled analysis from the journal Environmental Health Perspectives became particularly well-known after it stated the following: “There is no safe level of lead in a child’s body.”
Early childhood exposure to lead, arsenic, cadmium, and other heavy metals have been linked to the following neurodevelopmental complications:
- Impaired cognitive function
- Lower IQ scores
- Reduced attention span
- Issues with motor skills
- Behavioral & learning problems
- Mental processing delays
- Issues with social cues
- Speech & language delays
Studies linking heavy metal exposure to Autism
Many studies have established a connection between heavy metals and impaired neurodevelopment, but researchers have also begun linking exposure to an increased risk of Autism Spectrum Disorder, or ASD, in the past couple decades. Most notably, a 2017 study from peer-reviewed journal Nature Communications found that baby teeth from children with Autism contained increased levels of lead.
Then in 2022, a global meta-analysis in Pharmacology Biochemistry Behavior supported these findings after reviewing six prominent heavy metal studies published worldwide. The paper reached the following conclusion:
“The etiology of autism remains unclear and controversial; however environmental factors have been demonstrated. A major environmental factor that is implicated is a high body burden of toxic metals in autistic patients. The current evidence from our study supports an association between higher toxic metal burden with autism.”
Join the Baby Food/Autism lawsuit
If your child was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2010 or later after eating Gerber, Beech-Nut, or another baby food brand, you may be eligible for a settlement from the lawsuit.
Ready to file a claim ?
See if you qualify for the Baby Food lawsuit.
Referenced Articles
- U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and Reform, Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy. (2021, September 29). New disclosures show dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals in even more baby foods. https://oversightdemocrats.house.gov/imo/media/doc/ECP%20Second%20Baby%20Food%20Report%209.29.21%20FINAL.pdf
- Houlihan, J., Brody, C. (2019, October). Report: what’s in my baby’s food? Healthy Babies Bright Futures. https://hbbf.org/sites/default/files/2022-12/BabyFoodReport_ENGLISH_R6_0.pdf
View more sources
Needleman, H.L., Gunnoe, C. Leviton, A., et al. (1979 March 29). Deficits in psychologic and classroom performance of children with elevated dentine lead levels. New England Journal of Medicine. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/763299/
Lanphear, B., Hornung, R., Khoury, J., Yolton, K.,, et al. (2005, March 18). Low-level environmental lead exposure and children’s intellectual function: an international pooled analysis. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113(7), 894-899. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1257652/
Dewey, D., Soomro, M.H. (2025, December 29). Prenatal and childhood exposures to heavy metals and their associations with child cognition, motor skills, behaviour and mental health. Essays in Biochemistry, 69(3), 199-240. https://doi.org/10.1042/EBC20253010
Soares da Silva, A., Santos, R.M.S., De Marco, P.G., et al. (2025 August 21). Neurodevelopmental outcomes associated with early-life exposure to heavy metals: a systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(8), 1308. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22081308
Bernard S, Enayati A, Redwood L, Roger H, Binstock T. (2001, April). Autism: a novel form of mercury poisoning. Medical Hypotheses, 56(4), 462-471. doi.org/10.1054/mehy.2000.1281
Amadi, C.N., Orish, C.N., Frazzoli, C., Orisakwe, O.E. (2022, January). Association of autism with toxic metals: A systematic review of case-control studies. Pharmacology Biochemistry Behavior, 212, Article 173313. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbb.2021.173313
Ding M., Shi S., Qie S., et al. (2023, July 3). Association between heavy metals exposure (cadmium, lead, arsenic, mercury) and child autistic disorder: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Frontiers in Pediatrics, 11. doi.org/10.3389/fped.2023.1169733
About the Baby Food Lawsuit
Products at-risk
Certain brands of store-bought baby food
Who's being sued?
- Gerber
- Beech-Nut
- Plums Organic
- HappyFamily/HappyBaby
- Sprout Organic Food
- Parent’s Choice Food
- Earth’s Best Organic Food
Which complications are eligible?
- Autism Spectrum Disorder
