During February 2021 EGG-NEWS reported on the Congressional investigation into heavy metal contamination of baby foods.  This resulted in the FDA addressing the issue through direct contact with leading manufacturers. They were advised to comply with the Current Good Manufacturing Practice, Hazard Analysis Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food, issued in September 2015.

Predictably, lawsuits have been filed against major manufacturers alleging that heavy metal contamination has harmed hundreds of thousands of American children.  The March class-action lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York.  After due consideration, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation denied transfer on June 7th noting that cases are defendant-specific. 

The panel ruled, “At a general level these actions are similar.  All Plaintiffs allege that Defendants knowingly sold baby food products containing heavy metals and did not disclose this in their marketing.  It is not disputed though that each Defendant manufactures, markets and distributes its own baby food products subject to different manufacturing processes, suppliers and quality control procedures.  The claims against each defendant thus are like to rise or fall on facts specific to that defendant such as the amount of heavy metals and its products, the results of internal testing and its marketing strategy”. 

The ruling of the judicial panel will create a mosaic of cases with different claims concerning harm allegedly caused by heavy metal contamination.  Some plaintiffs are invoking autism spectrum disorder, others have concentrated on the known neurotoxic effects of low-level exposure.   As noted in April, allegations relating to heavy metal exposure will be the subject of extensive arguments considering childhood development, pathology and epidemiology.  Resolution will be years away and lawyers and experts will benefit financially with defendants ultimately negotiating settlements. 

The initial revelations of heavy metal contamination including the presence of arsenic stimulated the FDA to establish and enforce new standards for the contaminant with manufacturers of processed foods now aware of their responsibilities and liabilities.  To this effect, the Beech-Nut Nutrition Company has recalled infant rice cereals and will stop selling infant rice products entirely since it cannot consistently comply with guidance levels.

Jason Jacobs, Vice-president of Food Safety and Quality for the Beech-Nut Nutrition Company stated, “We are issuing a voluntary recall because we learned through routine sampling by the State of Alaska that a limited quantity of Beech-Nut single-grain rice cereal products had levels of naturally occurring inorganic arsenic above the FDA guidance level”.  This is a damning admission since Beech-Nut should have been monitoring the levels of a potentially toxic contaminant in baby food and should not have abrogated their responsibility for quality control to the State of Alaska or to any other public entity.