Research Thursday. Consumer Reports: We Tested 41 Baby Formulas for Lead and Arsenic
March 20, 2025
Here is the citation.
Consumer Reports. We Tested 41 Baby Formulas for Lead and Arsenic. Written by Lauren Kirchner. March 18, 2025
Here is the link.
Here is a synopsis.
Consumer Reports recently tested 41 types of powdered infant formula for numerous toxic chemicals including:
Arsenic
Lead
PFAs
BPA
Acrylamide
They tested established formulas like Similac and Enfamil, newer startups like Bobbie, popular store brands, and imported brands.
The bad news and the good news
The bad news - about half of the samples tested contained potentially harmful levels of at least one contaminant.
The good news - the other half of the samples tested showed “no or low levels of concerning chemicals.”
“All of the contaminants we found in our tests are, unfortunately, common in our food supply and environment; many have been found in studies of breastmilk as well. But just as importantly, many of our formula test results showed that safer alternatives are widely available, and that it is possible to produce baby formula that doesn’t contain worrisome contaminants and chemicals.”
Take home point for me: it is possible to produce baby formula that doesn’t contain worrisome contaminants and chemicals.