Congress Tested Baby Food — Here's What They Found

Congress tested baby formula and baby food for heavy metals to see if labels match lab results. Here is what you need to know. In 2021, a U.S. House Oversight investigation obtained the companies' own testing and published a report titled “Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.” Those are Congress's words. Four cooperated — Nurture (HappyBABY), Beech-Nut, Hain (Earth's Best Organic), and Gerber — and the data was alarming (ingredients tested far above the limit for arsenic in bottled water). Three — Walmart (Parent's Choice), Campbell (Plum Organics), and Sprout — refused to hand over data, which the committee called “greatly concerning.” And in 2025, brand-name baby food was still being recalled for lead. The honest balance: the metals come mostly from soil, not deliberate adds; “organic” doesn't block them; this is NOT a claim your baby has been harmed. The FDA's “Closer to Zero” plan finalized its first lead limits in January 2025 — real progress. The plan: go easy on rice (the biggest arsenic carrier), rotate fruits and veg (especially roots), favor brands that publish their testing (California's AB 899 now helps), and make some baby food yourself. If this helped, like and share it — it genuinely helps other parents. Educational, based on the 2021 U.S. House Oversight report, the FDA, and the CDC. Not medical advice. Details may change over time.