Gerber and Walmart Face Lawsuits Alleging Liability for Baby Food Tainted with Toxic Metals

• Snacks and products containing rice and/or sweet potatoes were particularly likely to have high levels of heavy metals. The cycle of continual improvement starts with the FDA evaluating existing data from routine testing of the food supply, research and data on chemical analytical methods, toxicological assays, exposure and risk assessments, and other relevant scientific information. Through a process that may include engagement with stakeholders, advisory committees, public workshops, and consultation with scientific experts, federal agency partners and other stakeholders, the agency will establish interim reference levels as appropriate. An IRL is a measure of exposure to a contaminant from food that the FDA may use to determine if the amount of exposure to the contaminant across foods could result in a specific health impact.
He plans to introduce legislation to tighten regulatory oversight of baby food, he added. Some Earth’s Best products contained arsenic and other contaminants, Congressional investigators said on Thursday. "This law firm is the best. They kept me informed of all actions. And due to the sensitive nature of my claim, they treated me with respect and understanding." Cadmium is a naturally occurring metal that can also be introduced through industrial activities.

A third group of plaintiffs, in addition to all of the defendants in these cases, argue against setting up any form of MDL court on the grounds that all the cases are different. Autism spectrum disorder, or ASD, is a developmental disorder that affects how an individual perceives the world and others around them and how they communicate with and socialize with other people. The Mayo Clinic notes the significance of the “spectrum” part of ASD in conveying the variety of different symptoms and levels of severity that people with autism spectrum disorder may experience.
However, the coalition notes that the plan is already behind schedule, since the FDA failed to propose lead action levels by the April deadline. This delay is both a public health concern and a matter of environmental justice, as low-income children and children of color are disproportionately impacted by lead through exposures to lead-based paint, lead in drinking water pipes, and other sources. Lead in their food only exacerbates the existing inordinate and inequitable hazards these children face. Individuals who match this description are eligible for free, no-obligation case reviews with an attorney handling baby food lawsuit claims for Arkansas residents.

Hain’s internal company standards permit dangerously high levels of toxic heavy metals and, worse, Hain sold products with toxic heavy metal levels that exceeded even its own reckless policy. The American Academy of Pediatrics and Healthy Babies Bright Futures offer suggestions to help parents avoid toxic heavy metals in baby foods. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed  by angry parents who fed their children baby food that was contaminated by heavy metals.
Notwithstanding the calls for manufacturers to ensure healthier baby foods, major brands such as Earth’s Best Organic, Gerber, and Hot Kid still exhibit variable levels of these harmful metals in their products. Such exposure can potentially impair children’s IQ and cause developmental issues. The report underscores the need for the Food and Drug Administration to instigate stricter regulations on permissible levels of toxic metals in baby foods. Foods primarily made from rice, sweet potatoes, and carrots were identified as carrying the highest risk, largely due to the ways they are farmed. Consumer Reports plan future tests for heavy metal contamination in baby foods and related products. Over the past few years, several damning reports have exposed the dangerous levels of heavy metals in baby foods.
Preterm infants who are unfortunately impacted by NEC risk serious, long-term impacts, all due to the negligent marketing of cow’s milk-based formulas by large manufacturers. NEC is a serious condition that could have long-term health risks for preterm babies. Statistics show that roughly 30% of infants who develop NEC, necrotizing enterocolitis, die from the illness.

By the end of 2018 (the FDA’s planned deadline), the agency should limit inorganic arsenic in apple juice to 10 ppb, the arsenic standard for bottled water, and limit inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal to 100 ppb. In addition, it should revise existing guidance for lead in fruit juice to reduce the limit from 50 to 5 ppb, the standard for bottled water. Set a goal of having no measurable amounts of cadmium, lead, or inorganic arsenic in baby and children's food—and use the most sensitive testing methods to determine the presence of those metals. And for some of the products CR tested, despite the presence of heavy metals, you’d have to feed your child quite a bit of the food for it to pose a risk. For instance, our analysis found that it would take more than five servings of Plum Organics’ Little Yums Organic Teething Wafers per day before his or her intake from that product alone reached a level of concern.
It has been hypothesized but not proven that infants with a cow’s milk allergy are also at higher risk for necrotizing enterocolitis, and there are other conditions that can mimic NEC. There is litigation against the makers of two types of baby formula, Similac and Enfamil. Both have been involved in NEC formula lawsuits due to their potential risk of causing necrotizing gerber baby food lawsuit enterocolitis in infants. By mid-January 2023, nine new cases filed against baby formula manufacturers had been transferred from state court to a class action NEC baby formula lawsuit, increasing the number of consolidated cases to 97. Even so, the limit, which is 100 ppb, is considered too high for infants and toddlers by medical specialists and health organizations.

The legal team handles the case so you can focus your time on therapies and doing what you love. I agree, this post is so eye-opening and makes me even more passionate to always be asking more questions and looking for the truth. Safer alternatives exist here, so it’s important to just familiarize yourself with the options. In fact, you’ll save an average of 80% less toxic exposure if you follow the solutions we’ve pulled for you.
The current lawsuits over ASD and baby foods are based on weak scientific evidence of an association, where even the researchers cannot show a consistent association and no evidence that baby foods cause ASD. Arsenic is a naturally occurring metal in the earth’s crust, found in soil and water, taken up by plants and fish, and ultimately becomes part of our food chain. The foods that contain the highest levels of arsenic are rice, fish and shellfish, and some meats, although it is also found in grains, fruits, vegetables, cereals, and poultry - just about every food. Arsenic levels tend to be high in rice due to the flooded conditions under which rice is grown, which allows arsenic to be easily absorbed by the rice.

Surprisingly, organic foods were no less contaminated than conventional foods. Beech-Nut used ingredients after they tested as high as 913.4 ppb arsenic. If our product liability attorneys determine that we can help with your case then you decide whether to move forward and hire us to pursue a settlement. Get Contacted by Saiontz & Kirk, P.A.You will be contacted by our law firm to help determine if financial compensation may be available for you and your family. The FDA allows a maximum level of 5 parts per billion lead in bottled water. This page is intended to direct parents to potentially helpful resources.
Several popular baby food brands contain "high levels" of toxic heavy metals -- and they are not doing enough to stop the practice, according to a new report released Wednesday by a U.S. The House Committee is calling on the FDA to determine if there is any safe exposure level for babies to inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury, and then require them to meet those standards, and properly inform  consumers through food labels. Currently, there is no established safe levels of these substances for use in baby foods. “Defendants knew that the presence of toxic heavy metals in their baby food products was a material fact to consumers, yet omitted and concealed that fact from consumers,” the lawsuit alleged.
California law requires expert witnesses to have a reasonable foundation for their opinions before testifying at trial. In finding for the plaintiffs, the court is finding that the evidence that links autism and baby foods has an adequate foundation to be presented to a jury. What I have been saying all along was getting past this hurdle was the key to plaintiffs winning jury payouts and getting reasonable settlement amounts. There was no qualified expert who testified in this case that ingestion of heavy metals could cause the range of symptom the child suffers from in this case. There was also no evidence proferred regarding the level of ingestion required to cause those symptoms.