FDA issues new guidelines to reduce lead levels in baby foods
FDA issues new guidelines to reduce lead levels in baby foods
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Guidelines for food manufacturers are voluntary and cover packaged processed food for children under two years old. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued some new voluntary guidelines for baby food manufacturing companies in an effort to reduce levels of lead in some processed baby foods.
The new guidelines state that baby food manufacturers should include no more than 10 parts per billion (ppb) of lead in foods such as yoghurt, custard, pudding and a variety of fruits, vegetables, grains and meats. For single-ingredient root vegetables and dry cereals, the guideline is set at no more than 20ppb.
According to the FDA, it is not possible to remove lead entirely from the environment or the food supply as lead is “widely present in the environment due to both its natural occurrence and to human activities that have introduced it into the environment”.
But the agency said that establishing and setting action levels such as the ones in the guidelines released on Monday “can help lower levels of contaminants in foods when a certain level of a contaminant is unavoidable”. In a news release, the FDA said that the measures were part of an initiative that seeks to “reduce dietary exposure to contaminants, including lead, in foods to as low as possible over time, while maintaining access to nutritious foods”.
The guidance, which was first proposed two years ago, covers packaged processed foods for children under the age of two years old, and includes foods in jars, pouches, tubs or boxes, and may include ready-to-eat foods like purees, as well as semi-prepared foods like dry infant cereals.
