In recent years, a growing number of non-profit organizations and government reports have identified dangerous levels of heavy metals in dozens of baby food products. Exposure to these toxic metals—including lead, arsenic, mercury, and cadmium—can be very harmful for young children, possibly contributing to an increased risk of Autism and other life-altering developmental effects.
Baby food brands likely at-risk
In August 2025, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton launched a statewide investigation into multiple major baby food brands over the risk that they may contain extremely high levels of toxic heavy metals.
This investigation follows a 2021 report from a subcommittee within the U.S. House of Representatives, which found “dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium” in seven well-known brands of store-bought baby food. The brands named in the report include:
- Gerber
- Beech-Nut
- Earth’s Best Organic
- Parent’s Choice (Walmart)
- HappyBABY (Happy Family Organics)
- Plum Organics (Sun-Maid Growers)
- Sprout Organics
Though some of the brands’ manufacturers refused to cooperate when asked to present their heavy metal testing results, the Subcommittee was able to collect internal data from four of the seven total companies. With these results, the Subcommittee found some alarming statistics:
- Beech-Nut has used ingredients that tested for up to 886.9 ppb lead.
- Some of HappyBABY’s ready-to-eat foods contain up to 641 ppb lead.
- Earth’s Best Organic has used ingredients with up to 309 ppb arsenic.
- Gerber has used ingredients with up to 87 ppb cadmium & 48 ppb lead.
Of the four participating manufacturers, only Happy Family Organics provided testing results for the presence of mercury in its baby food products. According to the report, some of HappyBABY’s ready-to-eat foods contained as much as 10ppb mercury.
Are there any other baby food products at-risk?
Specific ingredients often found in store-bought baby foods may be more likely to contain heavy metals than others. Here are a few common baby food ingredients that could potentially risk your child’s health when served regularly.
Rice
Rice is a highly absorbent grain, so it has a tendency to soak up large amounts of heavy metals present within the Earth’s crust, particularly inorganic arsenic. Though arsenic can be found naturally in all types of rice, it’s especially prominent in brown rice. This is because other types of rice—like white rice— typically undergo the milling process to remove their outer layers, which contain more heavy metals than any other part of the grain.
Fruit juice
Many brands of store-bought fruit juice—especially grape and apple juice—have been found to contain lead and inorganic arsenic at levels higher than U.S. federal drinking water standards. These heavy metals can both be found naturally in the Earth’s crust, but decades of human activity have caused them to slowly contaminate our nation’s groundwater over time and end up in some of our produce.
The use of these metals in American agricultural and industrial activities has been mostly phased out in recent years, but they could once be found in pesticides, wood preservatives, pipes, paints, fuel, and many other products.
Root vegetables
Because they’re grown deep in the soil, root vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and sweet potatoes can often contain high levels of lead and cadmium—especially the skins. These veggies can be potentially risky for your baby’s health if they aren’t adequately prepared.
File a Toxic Baby Food compensation claim
If your child was born before 2007 and diagnosed with Autism after being fed baby food from a brand listed above, you may be eligible to join the ongoing lawsuit for a settlement. Take our online Baby Food eligibility evaluation to see if your family may qualify to receive compensation.