Consumer Reports tested baby formulas sold in the United States for arsenic, lead and other contaminants.
The highest inorganic arsenic level was in Abbott’s EleCare Hypoallergenic, at 19.7 parts per billion. Similac Alimentum was second, at 15.1 parts per billion.
The EPA’s legal limit for arsenic in tap water is 10 parts per billion. Both of these formulas tested higher than what is allowed in the water coming out of your faucet.
But there is no legal limit for arsenic in baby formula in the US. None.
Europe sets legal limits for arsenic in baby food. The US still has none for baby formula.
Abbott disputed Consumer Reports’ testing methods and says trace amounts of heavy metals can be found in all infant formula.
Babies drink formula every day, several times a day, during the most sensitive months of their growth.
Ask your pediatrician about your baby’s formula,
