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Organic baby foods can contain lead, arsenic: How to protect your kids

A new report reveals organic foods are no safer than conventional baby and toddler foods when it comes to lead, arsenic, and cadmium. Here are steps you can take to protect your child.
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(Credit: Thinkstock)

Parents who feed their children organic foods want to be assured they're making the healthier, safer choice.

But a report released Thursday by Consumer Reports said that organic foods are no safer than conventional baby and toddler foods when it comes to heavy metals. Among the metals found in some of the more popular baby food products are arsenic, cadmium and lead.

"Organic foods were as likely as conventional foods to have heavy metals, because the organic standard is focused on pesticides and not these contaminants."

Organic is good, but not when it comes to heavy metals in food

Organic baby and toddler foods have benefits.

Babies are ingesting fewer pesticides. Because of this, it naturally follows that organically grown foods have less of an impact on the environment, according to the new report.

But avoiding heavy metals, which, when consumed regularly, have been known to pose certain health problems in children, is not one of them, the study says.

Of the 50 baby and toddler products that Consumer Reports sampled, 20 were labeled organic.

The report found a metal in every sample.

“Arsenic and lead, which have been used in the past as pesticides, are prohibited under organic regulations,” says Charlotte Vallaeys, Consumer Reports’ food labeling expert. "But because these heavy metals are contaminants in the soil, there's no reason why organic baby foods would contain lesser amounts.”

Parents surprised because they thought organic meant safe

Some parents didn't expect the findings. The primary reason parents cited for buying packaged organic foods was because they thought they were avoiding harmful contaminants such as heavy metals, they survey found.

Almost 40 percent of parents believed there wasn't lead, arsenic or other heavy metals in the foods they bought.

What can parents do if organic isn't the answer?

It may be impossible to completely eliminate all heavy metals from food. But Consumer Reports has suggestions on steps parents can take to reduce heavy metals in the food they give their children.

"Making changes now will go a long way to protecting your children, regardless of any prior exposure," said James Dickerson, Consumer Reports' chief scientific officer.

1. Limit the amount of infant rice cereal your child eats.

Cereal is often a baby’s first solid food because it is easy to swallow and fortified with iron. But Consumer Reports notes concerns about levels of inorganic arsenic in the product.

2. Be picky about the types of rice your child eats.

Brown rice had more inorganic arsenic than white rice of the same type. Rice cakes, cereal and pasta were also high in inorganic arsenic.

A better choice is white basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan. Sushi rice from the U.S. had an average of half as much inorganic arsenic as most other types.

3. Pick snacks low in heavy metals.

Apples, unsweetened applesauce, avocados, bananas, beans, cheese, grapes, hard-boiled eggs, peaches, strawberries and yogurt are snacks that were found to be low in heavy metals.

4. Be wary of fruit juice.

Past tests found inorganic arsenic and lead in many brands of apple and grape juices.

5. Go easy on the chocolate.

Cocoa powder may contain cadmium and/or lead. Cocoa itself may have more than dark chocolate, and dark chocolate may have more than milk chocolate.

6. Pass on protein powders.

These may contain arsenic, cadmium and lead, according to Consumer Reports tests. Whey and egg-based powders tended to have less than plant-based ones such as soy and hemp.

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