Key takeaways: Heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are found in soil and water and can end up in both store-bought and homemade foods. The FDA’s Closer to Zero program is working to lower levels, including guidance on lead in baby foods. The best steps for families are feeding a variety of foods, limiting rice-based products, avoiding juice, and testing well water.
News reports have raised concerns about heavy metals in baby food. Here’s what parents can do.
Where Heavy Metals Come From
Heavy metals occur naturally in soil and water, and pollution can add more. Plants absorb them as they grow. That means they can be in both commercial and homemade foods.
What Research and Reports Found
A 2021 U.S. House subcommittee report found heavy metals in many commercial baby foods. Independent testing groups have also reported levels in various foods.
What the FDA Is Doing
- Closer to Zero: an FDA plan to reduce exposure to lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury in foods for babies and young children.
- Lead: in January 2025, the FDA issued guidance to industry with recommended maximum lead levels in processed foods for babies and young children.
- Arsenic: the FDA has an action level for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal.
Steps That Help
- Offer a variety of foods. This avoids high exposure from any one food.
- Limit rice-based foods. Choose oat, barley, or multigrain cereals, and avoid rice snacks and rice milk.
- Choose iron-fortified cereals other than rice.
- Skip juice. It’s not recommended before 12 months.
- Use teething foods carefully. Some rice-based teething biscuits have been found to contain arsenic. Frozen bananas or chilled cucumbers (for older babies, supervised) are alternatives.
- Test well water.
- Reduce lead at home: old paint, dust, and water pipes are major sources.
Is Homemade Better?
Not necessarily. Homemade foods can contain the same metals, depending on the ingredients. Variety matters most.
Nutrition Matters Too
Iron, calcium, and other nutrients may help reduce the body’s absorption of lead.
Testing Your Child
Ask your pediatrician about blood lead testing.
The Bottom Line
You can’t avoid all heavy metals, but variety, limiting rice, skipping juice, and lowering lead at home make a real difference.
Want more support for your baby’s first year? My book, From First Breath to First Birthday, is available on Amazon.
Sources
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Closer to Zero: reducing childhood exposure to contaminants from foods; guidance on lead in processed food intended for babies and young children. https://www.fda.gov
- U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy. Baby foods are tainted with dangerous levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury. February 2021.
- American Academy of Pediatrics. Metals in baby food: what parents need to know. HealthyChildren.org. https://www.healthychildren.org
This article is for general education and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Always talk with your baby’s health care provider or your own provider about your specific situation. If you think your baby or you may have a medical emergency, call 911.
