If you have a baby, you probably want to feed him or her the best food around.
After all, that’s how your baby is going to grow strong and healthy. But what if you were giving your child food that was actually packed with contaminants that could stunt growth, cause cognitive problems, or lead to a host of other issues?
You may think that that doesn’t apply to you, but many parents have recently found out that their kids are ingesting contaminants that have been shown to cause health issues. A terrifying study came out recently that says that a shocking 80 percent of baby formulas now have arsenic in them. But it gets worse – that’s not the only contaminant found in baby food recently.
This study was performed by a nonprofit called The Clean Label Project. It works to ensure food safety and quality. The organization tested infant formula, baby food, and toddler snacks to check for any issues. And boy, did it find them.
Out of 530 products tested, a whopping 65 percent of food items came back with positive testing for arsenic, 36 percent tested positive for lead, 58 percent tested positive for cadmium, and 10 percent came back positive for acrylamide.
These are all harmful components for people but especially for the developing infants and children who ingest them.
And shockingly, some of the biggest and most well-known corporations were the worst. These include brands like Gerber, Enfamil, and Sprout. Countless people buy products from these companies every day, so it’s quite a widespread problem.
Arsenic was the most commonly found contaminant in the food products that were studied.
This is worrisome since arsenic can cause diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and developmental defects, and it might even cause cancer. The contaminant was most highly concentrated in rice-based food, such as puff-style snacks that are often given to toddlers.
Although the FDA has set regulations on how much arsenic can be in commercially sold food, it rarely enforces those limits.
But the agency says that it’s hard to prevent this type of problem since the contaminants are absorbed into food from the ground while they are growing. That means that it’s almost impossible for them to stop showing up in food.
These types of findings raise some important questions about the chemicals companies in various industries continue to use.
Some activists and policymakers are calling for more regulation of commercial chemical use, especially since many chemicals have been linked to health problems for humans, not to mention fish and other wildlife that are affected. When it gets to the point that people can’t feed their children food that isn’t potentially dangerous, it’s time to make some changes.
In the meantime, parents can work to make sure the foods they are giving their kids isn’t dangerous or unhealthy.
By doing some additional research, you can find out about some of the best foods and brands to buy for your kids to ensure that they are being exposed to the fewest contaminants possible. Make sure to buy organic when possible, and always wash your produce thoroughly before serving it to your family. You can also encourage lawmakers to pass laws that will put more regulations on companies that use these chemicals. By working together, we can demand that no more harmful compounds are allowed to seep into the ground where we must grow our food.
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