High levels of arsenic have been found in baby cereal made with rice, and it could cause a drop in children's IQs
- In a test of nearly 170 baby foods, a nonprofit group found that 95% of the samples contained heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, or mercury.
- Rice-based cereal was identified as "the top source of arsenic in infant's diets."
- Newborns and children up to 2 years old lose more than 11 million IQ points from exposure to arsenic and lead in food, the authors estimated.
- Sen. Chuck Schumer has called on the FDA to examine the report and release its full findings to the public.
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It can feel impossible to escape toxic chemicals: They've been found in clothing, makeup, cleaning products, plastic containers, and single-use water bottles.
But one of the most concerning places to find contaminants is in children's food, since babies' metabolic pathways haven't built up immunity to environmental hazards. They also weigh less, so they can be more vulnerable to the effects of toxic chemicals.
A nonprofit group called Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF), which aims to reduce babies' exposure to toxic chemicals, recently tested nearly 170 baby foods for heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury. In a report published October 17, the group wrote that 95% of the samples analyzed contained such metals, and a quarter of the baby foods tested contained all four of those chemicals.
In high enough concentrations, these chemicals could have damaging effects on a child's brain development - including their IQ.
However, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) hasn't established safety limits for a number of common baby foods known to carry heavy metals, including infant formula, cereal, and canned fruits and veggies. Even when safety limits do exist, environmental groups have still found chemical concentrations that exceed the FDA threshold.
The report found high levels of arsenic in rice-based cereals
The tests were conducted from 2014 to 2017, across 14 metropolitan areas in the US. The food items came from more than 60 brands and 17 different retailers, including supermarkets and dollar stores.
Of all the baby foods analyzed, rice-based foods were found to have the highest concentrations of heavy metals. Among these foods, the report identified arsenic as the "primary toxic metal of concern," and rice-based cereals as "the top source of arsenic in infants' diets."
Arsenic forms naturally in the Earth's crust. Exposure to the compound has been linked to brain-development issues in children, including slower motor function, diminished memory, and decreased IQs. It can also lead to birth defects and an increased risk of cancer, heart disease, and diabetes.
The FDA has an established safety limit for inorganic arsenic - the kind that's most toxic to humans - in infant rice cereal: 100 parts per billion. That's the equivalent of about a teaspoon of the chemical in a swimming pool. But the HBBF study found that four of the cereals they tested - two samples of Whole Grain Rice Cereal from Earth's Best, one sample of Organic Brown Rice Cereal from Healthy Times, and one sample of Brown Rice Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Baby Cereal from BioKinetics - exceeded the FDA threshold.
Some of the rice cereals sampled in the HBBF report also contained lead, a heavy metal to which there is no safe level of exposure. Children exposed to lead can suffer permanent brain damage that can result in learning disabilities and violent behavior.
Healthy Times and BioKinetics did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the findings of the recent report. In a statement to Business Insider, a representative of Earth's Best said the company is working with the Baby Food Council to reduce heavy metals across the industry.
"Our number-one priority has always been the safety of our food, and we assure you our products are safe and compliant with all FDA regulations," the company said. "As parents, we too share your concern for the safety and health of children."
Heavy metals in food can lead to a decrease in children's IQ
The report estimated that US newborns and children up to 2 years old lose more than 11 million IQ points over their lifetime due to exposure to arsenic and lead in food. Those calculations were based on a combination of data about the average baby's diet from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and FDA data about the concentrations of lead and arsenic in food.
More than half of this IQ loss can be attributed to just 15 foods, the authors wrote, and around 20% comes from rice-based foods. Infant rice cereal alone contributed nearly 3% to the total IQ loss, or around 330,000 IQ points over a lifetime, according to the report.
Those findings have caught the attention of Sen. Chuck Schumer, who on Sunday directed the FDA to examine the HBBF report and release its conclusions to the public.
"The report is very, very troubling," Schumer said in a statement. "Parents across the land should worry about teaching their children the ABCs, not worry about what's in their baby's food."