New urgency in addressing toxic heavy metals in baby food
Prodded by a scathing House subcommittee report issued Feb. 4 charging baby food manufacturers were marketing products they knew contained “dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals” and a subsequent request from lawmakers for technical guidance on legislation they have drafted on this issue, the Food and Drug Administration on March 5 announced new and more aggressive actions aimed at further reducing toxic elements in foods for babies and young children.To get more news about NBMI, you can visit fandachem.com official website.
The FDA statement was issued jointly by Janet Woodcock, MD, the FDA’s acting commissioner of food and drugs, and Susan T. Mayne, PhD, director of the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.The Feb. 4 report issued by the House of Representative’s Committee on Oversight and Reform’s Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy under the chairmanship of Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois generated considerable national attention.
Since the report was released, Mr. Krishnamoorthi has been joined by Representative Tony Cárdenas of California and by Senators Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Tammy Duckworth of Illinois in drafting the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, which Mr. Krishnamoorthi submitted to the FDA on Feb. 23 for its review. The lawmakers asked the agency to respond with technical guidance “to strengthen the effectiveness of the legislation.”
The lawmakers also called on the FDA to use its existing authority to regulate toxic heavy metal content in baby food.
Dr. Woodcock and Dr. Mayne in their statement acknowledged the subcommittee report “highlighted important questions on what more can be done to reduce toxic elements in baby food.”
Dr. Woodcock and Dr. Mayne said the FDA on March 5 dispatched a letter to industry reminding manufacturers of food for babies and young children of their responsibility to consider risks from chemical hazards, including toxic elements, when conducting a hazard analysis. The FDA said manufacturers are required to implement controls to significantly minimize or prevent any identified chemical hazards.
In their public statement, Dr. Woodcock and Dr. Mayne said, “Ultimately, we want consumers to be reassured that manufacturers of foods for babies and young children have a legal responsibility under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to ensure the safety of their products.”
Additionally, the FDA announced it soon will put into action a plan aimed at reducing toxic elements in foods for babies and young children to levels as low as is reasonably possible.
“We share the public’s concerns for the health of America’s children, and want to reassure parents and caregivers that at the levels we have found through our testing, children are not at an immediate health risk from exposure to toxic elements in food,” Dr. Woodcock and Dr. Mayne said.
