Get the lead out … of baby food

The Environmental Law Foundation of Oakland, California, has filed a lawsuit in an attempt to prompt more than two dozen baby food manufacturers to print warnings on their product labels alerting consumers to possible lead exposure.

The organization alleges that a number of baby foods, including carrots, peaches, pears, and fruit juices, carry dangerous levels of lead. The group has the grounds to prompt the manufacturers, which include such baby food heavyweights as Beech-Nut, Del Monte Foods, and Kroger, to print such warnings under California’s consumer-safety law, Proposition 65.

The manufacturers claim the lead is not at hazardous levels and that it is found naturally in the environment. The Environmental Law Foundation, however, begs to differ. Even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes lead exposure is dangerous at any level.