[csusbpeace] New FDA guidance calls for lower lead concentrations in baby food and cereals
- From: "raccoon" <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> ("bigraccoon1")
- To: "CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <CSUSBPEACE@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 26 Jan 2023 07:03:01 -0800
https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/01/25/1151214255/the-fda-proposes-new-targets-to-limit-lead-in-baby-food
The FDA proposes new targets to limit lead in baby food
New guidance calls for lower lead levels in food for babies and children
under 2. Lead exposure can be harmful to developing brains.
Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty
It's not possible to remove all traces of lead from the food supply, because
the heavy metal is found throughout the environment and can be absorbed by
plants. So traces are found in the vegetables, fruits and grains that are
used to make baby food.
But as toxic metal exposure can be harmful to developing brains, the Food and
Drug Administration is issuing new guidelines to reduce children's exposure
<https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-announces-action-levels-lead-categories-processed-baby-foods>
to the lowest level possible.
The new FDA guidance calls for limiting lead concentrations in all processed
foods intended for babies and children less than two years old. Lead
concentrations should now be limited to 10 parts per billion in fruits,
vegetables and meats packaged in baby food jars, pouches, tubs and boxes. The
target is 20 parts per billion for dry cereals.
The FDA estimates these lower levels could result in a 24 to 27% reduction in
exposure to lead resulting in "long-term, meaningful and sustainable
reductions in the exposure to this contaminant from these foods," according
to a statement by FDA Commissioner Robert Califf
<https://www.fda.gov/about-fda/fda-organization/robert-califf>.
"We know that the less amount of these metals in babies' bodies, the better,"
says Dr. Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician
<https://www.childrenshospital.org/directory/aaron-bernstein>at Boston
Children's Hospital and a member of the American Academy of Pediatrics. So,
he says the goal should be to minimize how much lead a child is exposed to.
"Parents need to recognize that foods have metals in them naturally in some
cases," he says. So it's best "to feed your child a variety of foods to the
extent that's possible." Some foods will have more lead than others and a
varied diet is also good for nutrition — so following "good nutritional
guidance will also reduce exposure to these metals," Bernstein says.
The American Academy of Pediatrics has several tips for parents on how to
reduce children's exposure to heavy metals
<https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Metals-in-Baby-Food.aspx>:
Serve a variety of foods, read labels, switch up your infant cereals and
check your water supply for heavy metals.
In addition offer toddlers and young children sliced or pureed fruit instead
of fruit juice, because some fruit juices can contain concerning levels of
heavy metals.
<https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/baby/feeding-nutrition/Pages/Metals-in-Baby-Food.aspx>
"Fruit juices can have as much, if not more of these very metals we're trying
to minimize," Bernstein says. And he says juice is a "sugar hit" for kids, so
nutritionally it's a good thing to avoid.
The FDA says there has already been a dramatic decline in lead exposure from
foods since the mid-1980s. Lead was phased out of gasoline and paint decades
ago and there's currently lots of federal funding to replace old water pipes
<https://www.epa.gov/ground-water-and-drinking-water/funding-lead-service-line-replacement#:~:text=Eligible%20Projects&text=The%20entire%20service%20line%20from,Line%20Replacement%20through%20the%20DWSRF>
that contain lead, pushed through partly in response to shocking stories of
lead poisoning
<https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/08/12/483079525/where-lead-lurks-and-why-even-small-amounts-matter>in
places like Flint, Michigan.
Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician at NYU Langone Health,
<https://med.nyu.edu/faculty/leonardo-trasande> says the FDA is moving in the
right direction with these new targets, but we've known about these toxins
for decades, he says.
"As much as this is a baby step forward in limiting toxic exposures for
children's health, the FDA has been glacial in its pace of addressing newer
and emerging contaminants," he says.
Chemicals such as phthalates
<https://www.cdc.gov/biomonitoring/Phthalates_FactSheet.html>which are used
in packaging can find their way into food. Trasande says we need to know how
these compounds may also be impacting children's health.
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