Recently, Consumer Reports have been suspending sales and recalling many baby food products. The reports claim that many popular manufacturers have been producing baby food with alarmingly high levels of heavy metals. This can be very dangerous for those eating it. If your child has been injured due to heavy metals in their food, O’Connor, Acciani & Levy can help you recover compensation.
Few Companies Respond with Details
According to the House Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, heavy metals include inorganic arsenic, cadmium, and lead. Heavy metals can also often be present due to having contaminated products or when water is contaminated.
Once the report was made by the House Subcommittee, a second follow-up report was released to encourage companies to share their information to further understand the gravity of the situation. From this call to action, only four popular companies responded and shared information regarding the levels of heavy metals found. This also proved to the House Subcommittee that these companies rarely tested for any contaminants in their food.
Although this helped the House Subcommittee collect inside information from the manufacturers, many companies did not end up responding or commenting on this issue. Many of these companies distribute to large chain companies like Walmart and Sprout Foods, putting many people at risk.
Companies Not Monitoring and Underreporting Toxins in Products
Based on this investigation, it was clear that companies were not monitoring content in their baby food and even underreporting the toxic materials that were showing up in their data. Due to this, recalls began to happen and stores began to remove all products that would be subjected to this issue.
According to many reports by the CR, there were many claims that metal testing in these companies was inaccurate. Gerber, which is one of the most popularized baby food brands, did not recall any of their products although they found evidence of these metals in their samples. They claimed that evidence was “insufficient,” but the tests are out there.
Consumers Hold Problematic Manufacturers Accountable
Mothers have been the most vocal when it comes to this problem, and many have begun to boycott these products, fearing for their children’s health. Regardless of the panic that ensued after the fact, experts have reported that there should be no reason to worry. They claim that sticking to the basics and changing their children’s eating habits can be a great option while they continue investigating this issue.
Consumers hope that the FDA will update the timelines, make more accurate data available, and force these companies to further investigate and limit these toxic materials in their products. Attorneys at O’Connor, Acciani & Levy are here to help you in your product liability claim. Get in touch today.