A recent study conducted by Clean Label Project for a period of 5 months has put up several questions on the safety of baby products. According to their reports, almost 2/3^rd of the baby food products contain toxins including arsenic, cadmium, lead and acrylamide.

As reported by WXIN, the non-profit organization has taken 500 infant formula samples from 60 leading brands.

Now, Rachel Lara Dawkins, M.D. of Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital, gives information and a detailed explanation regarding the study and infant food safety.

“For parents, it is first essential to understand that something which has been ‘tested positive’ should not be considered as harmful completely,” said Dawkins.

Components like arsenic are present naturally in the environment. Hence, eliminating those entirely is not possible, but of course, there are safety thresholds to abide by.

Again, there are components which are harmful in every way. Lead is one of those which has no such safety level and hence, can be dangerous for developing infants.

The report said 65% of the food products have been tested positive for arsenic while 36% have tested positive for lead.

Dawkins further explained that any kind of exposure is harmful to kids because of their weight in comparison with the higher exposure. It’s also unsafe as they are growing and developing at a fast pace.

Lead can cause anemia, reduced IQ, learning disability and other behavioral problems. Again, higher levels of arsenic content can negatively affect various organs like liver, kidney, lungs, skin and even cause cancer.

Another component found in the food products, BPA (Bisphenol A) can have severe effects on the endocrine system and hormones. BPA is an industrial constitute which is used to make plastics.

Clean Label Project’s report has shown, 60% of products which have the “BPA-free” labels in reality contain this element. The findings also said, “There are 70% more acrylamide in today’s baby foods compared to average French fries.”

Most other chemicals often do not show any side effect unless infants are exposed to those for a longer period.

Considering all these risk factors, Rachel recommends parents for feeding different types of grains to their newborns, as rice products are likely to have more arsenic content. Parents can try variants like barley, oats, etc.

The doctor also informed that anything ‘organic’ doesn’t mean it has no contaminant. Every parent must be aware of the ingredients of their baby’s food product.

“There’s nothing better than breastfeeding newborns for their 1^st few months,” said Rachel.