WASHINGTON, February 5. / TASS /. Hazardous concentrations of heavy metals have been identified in food for children by seven American companies. This is stated in a report posted on Thursday on the website of the profile subcommittee of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform of the House of Representatives of the Congress.
"Inorganic arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury are toxic heavy metals. The Food and Drug Administration (FD) and the World Health Organization consider them hazardous to human health, especially to the nerve cells of infants and children. Even small amounts of these substances can cause serious and often irreparable damage to the developing brain, "warned the subcommittee on economic and consumer policy in the lower house of Congress.
As the authors of the document informed, a high concentration of the above metals was found in baby food from Nurture, Beech-Nut, Hain, Gerber, Campbell Soup, Walmart and Sprout Foods. The first four firms satisfied the request of parliamentarians, providing them with the results of their examinations and inspections of these food products, as well as the methodology for their testing. Campbell Soup, Walmart, and Sprout Foods all declined to partner with congressmen. The Subcommittee was deeply concerned about this circumstance, which “may contribute to the concealment of higher levels of toxic heavy metals in infant formula” by these companies compared to similar products from their competitors.
Congressmen concluded that the companies mentioned above are selling these food products for children, knowing that they contain substances hazardous to health. The House Subcommittee believes that the former administration of Republican President Donald Trump was aware of, but ignored this information. In some cases, the content of inorganic arsenic in baby food was 28-93% higher than the expected level.
