Routine testing revealed possible lead contamination in GreenWise baby food sold by Publix, prompting a voluntary recall across the supermarket chain’s stores.
Mark Walker reports for The New York Times.
In short:
Publix issued a voluntary recall of its GreenWise Pear, Kiwi, Spinach & Pea Baby Food pouches after testing flagged elevated lead levels. The number of units and the range of distribution remain unclear.The baby food manufacturer, Bowman Andros, did not respond to inquiries. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was notified, but as of Sunday, had no additional information listed in its recall database.This follows a March recall by Target of its own baby food product over similar lead concerns, involving over 25,000 units.
Key quote:
“I hope these two incidents are an indicator that the industry is doing a lot more testing in this area than what they were doing before.”
— Brian Ronholm, director of food policy at Consumer Reports
Why this matters:
Even trace amounts of lead pose serious health threats to infants and young children, whose developing brains and bodies are highly sensitive to toxins. Lead exposure can cause lasting neurological damage, learning difficulties, behavioral disorders, and lowered IQ. While lead contamination in food is not new, recurring recalls of baby food highlight both the vulnerability of the youngest consumers and the gaps in the nation’s food safety monitoring system. The FDA has struggled to enforce meaningful limits on heavy metals in baby food, even after repeated findings of toxic elements in widely sold brands. With testing catching more problems, a serious concern is emerging: Harmful contaminants may be more common in everyday foods than once thought.
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