STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Nearly three out of every four baby food items sold in the United States include trace amounts of arsenic, with some containing much more of the harmful carcinogen than others.

A recent study conducted by Healthy Babies Bright Future (HBBF) found that 95% of all popular baby foods in the country contain toxic heavy metals, with 73% containing arsenic.

Researchers tested 168 different baby food items, consisting of 61 brands and 13 types of food, including infant formula, teething biscuits, cereals, and fruit juices, all of which were selected by parents at their local stores and online. The study tested for arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.

Of the 123 baby food items that tested positive for arsenic, these 10 contained the highest amount, measured in parts per billion (ppb):

HappyBABY Organic Rice Cakes Puffed Rice Snack - Apple Snack: 455 ppb

BioKinetics BioKinetics Brown Rice Organic Sprouted Whole Grain Baby Cereal: 353 ppb

O Organics (Albertson/Safeway) Organic Puffs - Apple Strawberry Snack: 309 ppb

Simple Truth Organic (Kroger) Whole Grain Puffs Broccoli & Spinach Snack: 307 ppb

HappyBABY Superfood Puffs Organic Grain Snack - Sweet Potato & Carrot Snack: 295 ppb

HappyBABY Superfood Puffs - Apple & Broccoli Organic Grain Snack - for crawling baby: 266 ppb

Healthy Times Organic Brown Rice Cereal - 4+ months: 153 ppb

Earths Best Whole Grain Rice Cereal: 138 ppb

Earths Best Whole Grain Rice Cereal: 126 ppb

Beech-Nut Rice Single Grain Baby Cereal - Stage 1, from about 4 months: 117 ppb

Arsenic is a Grade-A carcinogen, known to cause lung, skin and bladder cancer. The toxic metal is also known to harm the development of the brain and nervous system, with at least 13 studies linking arsenic to IQ loss in children.

According to the HBBF study, lead was found in 94% of baby foods, cadmium in 75%, arsenic in 73% and mercury in 32% of foods. Twenty-six percent of baby foods contained all four metals, 40% contained three metals, 21% contained two metals, and 8% contained only one metal. Only 5% (nine baby foods) contained no metals.

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer is demanding new federal action by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that would force the baby food industry to address the safety issue.

According to the study, while the FDA has proposed to limit the amount of toxic heavy metals in baby food in the past, no action has been taken to this point.

ADVICE FOR PARENTS

HBBF recommended five healthier food substitutions that can help in reducing babies exposure to heavy toxic metals:

Read the rest here:

These 10 baby foods have the highest levels of arsenic, says report - SILive.com