Popular organic kids' snacks found to contain high levels of lead: Consumer Reports

A study conducted by Consumer Reports discovered that two popular brands of kids' snacks contain elevated levels of lead, though federal standards have not been set on heavy metal levels in many baby foods.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has only set limits on heavy metals in infant rice cereal and juice, though it is working to put standards in place for other categories of baby foods.

The owner of Lead Safe Mama, Tamara Rubin, published a story on her website about LesserEvil and Serenity Kids products containing lead.

Rubin’s company focuses on preventing lead poisoning while also raising awareness for parents about sources of lead exposure. For example, she sounded the alarm on Stanley tumblers, which were found to contain lead.

More recently, Rubin found that cassava-based snacks like Serenity Kids puffs contained high levels of lead, leading Consumer Reports to test four cassava products from LesserEvil and Serenity Kids as well as two products from Once Upon a Farm that contained sorghum.

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The study found that LesserEvil’s Lil’ Puffs Intergalactic Voyager Veggie Blend puffs contained "more lead per serving than any of the 80 baby foods" Consumer Reports has tested since 2017.

Specifically, the test found the lead content was 112% of the maximum allowable dose levels (MADLs) established by California Proposition 65.

James E. Rogers, Ph.D., head of food safety testing at Consumer Reports, said kids should consume less than half of a serving of the Intergalactic Voyager Veggie Blend puffs per day.

Consumer Reports also found LesserEvil’s Lil’ Puffs Sweet Potato Apple Asteroid and Serenity Kids’ Tomato & Herb, Bone Broth puffs also contained high levels of lead.

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LesserEvil’s Asteroid puffs contained lead levels at 60% of the MADLs, while Serenity Kids Tomato & Herbs contained lead levels at 53%.

Based on these levels, Rogers recommended children be given 1½ servings of puffs, at the most, per day.

Rogers warned that the serving sizes of the puffs are smaller than people may realize. According to Consumer Reports, a single serving of Intergalactic Voyager Veggie Blend is 17 puffs, while the Serenity Kids puffs are sold in a 1 ½ ounce container with six servings.

The Once Upon a Farm products tested had "very low" levels of lead, Consumer Reports said, accounting for some of the lowest levels of all the baby food they have ever tested.

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"Clearly, some manufacturers need to do a better job of keeping heavy metals out of their snack foods, and there may be some particular concerns about foods made with cassava," Rogers said.

Rogers acknowledged that the FDA recently proposed limits on lead and other heavy metals in some categories of baby food. But he also noted that snack foods were not one of the categories being looked at for lead regulations.

"The agency needs to take a hard look at the snacks parents feed their children and make sure they don’t have dangerous levels of lead and other contaminants," he said.

Caitlin Mack, the brand marketing director at LesserEvil, told FOX Business its products adhere to current regulatory requirements.

"LesserEvil was built on a mission to create better, cleaner, more natural products than the highly processed and refined snacks that overtook grocery store shelves for years," she said. "We are proud of the best-in-class products we've put on shelves, which all meet GRAS (Generally Recognized as Safe) standards and federal regulations for organic products. Food safety is a top priority, and we conduct extensive testing for all LesserEvil products that complies with California Prop 65 and federal standards."

Jennie Shen, director of brand marketing for Serenity Kids, told FOX Business its puffs have always been safe for consumption.

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"All of our products test well below the maximum allowable dose levels established by California Proposition 65," Shen said. "We have always addressed lead and all heavy metals head-on because we are confident in the safety of our products and ingredients, and because we believe that our products are healthier than the alternatives that exist today."

Like Consumer Reports, Shen said the FDA does not have standards and benchmarks regulating heavy metals in all baby food segments. Instead, the agency only provides drafted guidance on the matter.

Without those standards, she said Serenity Kids sought out its own standards and holds all products to the California Prop 65 exposure thresholds for heavy metals, which are some of the lowest published levels in the U.S.

"Our puffs are completely safe to consume and are compliant with applicable regulations like Prop 65 for heavy metals in the United States based on the recommended serving size," Shen said.

She also explained that heavy metals like lead are prevalent in the food system.

The Serenity Kids puffs contain cassava, which Consumer Reports said has been shown through tests to contain high levels of lead. Similarly, other root vegetables like sweet potatoes, carrots and beets also contain elevated levels of lead.

Angelia Seyfferth, Ph.D., in the department of plant and soil sciences at the University of Delaware, told Consumer Reports that lead can occur naturally in soil or end up there from pollution. The lead can accumulate in a plant’s roots but not move very well beyond the root, she said.

Cassava can also be processed into flour and baked into snack foods, making the lead levels more concentrated.

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Shen explained that the Serenity Kids products contain whole food ingredients, so they have a state-of-the-art quality program and testing protocols. For example, they test all of their products and work with suppliers who use remediation methods to find foods with the lowest achievable levels of contaminants, then prioritize them for babies, she said.

"We also carefully vet all of our suppliers to ensure we are using the cleanest possible ingredients so that we can feel good about the safety of our foods," Shen said. "We have always addressed lead and all heavy metals head-on because we are confident in the safety of our products and ingredients, and because we believe that our products are healthier than the alternatives that exist today."