Consumer Reports just released a follow-up to last year’s investigation into infant formulas, testing for heavy metals and other contaminants. While they found some concerning results, there are plenty of good choices.
Before you buy your next round of formula, here is what parents need to know.
Last year, Consumer Reports told parents about finding lead and arsenic in some of the 41 infant formulas CR tested. Now, scientists are going even deeper, analyzing 49 more baby formulas for arsenic, lead, PFAS, BPA, acrylamide, and other contaminants.
“We had a lot of questions from readers after our first round,” said Lauren Kirchner with Consumer Reports. “Readers were curious to learn about more hypoallergenic formulas, plant-based formulas and liquid and ready-to-feed, which were not included in our first round of tests.”
In CR’s tests, nearly half of the infant formulas had very low or non-detectable levels of contaminants.
Overall, about a third of liquid formulas and more than half of powdered formulas earned “top choice” ratings for very low or undetectable levels of contaminants.
But there’s still room for improvement. – More than half of the formulas contained potentially concerning levels of inorganic arsenic, a known carcinogen. Several were flagged for lead, which can harm a baby’s brain development.
PFAS, sometimes called “forever chemicals”, were detected in over a quarter of the products, and small amounts of bisphenol-A and acrylamide were detected in a few powders–two chemicals known to be harmful to babies’ health at too-high levels.
“All of the formulas in these tests are ultimately safe to feed your baby,” said Kirchner. “CR’s experts are using the most protective levels to assess health risks and compare formulas to one another, because it’s such an important food, and we believe that parents really want more information.”
There are no federal limits for heavy metals allowed in infant formula, and companies aren’t required to routinely test for them or share the results publicly.
Manufacturers told CR that they stood by the safety of their products, saying that they conduct extensive internal testing and pointing out that any contaminants fall within regulatory limits.
Bottom line for concerned parents: Have an open conversation with your pediatrician or trusted healthcare provider.