Baby food brands show mixed progress as microplastics and contaminants persist despite improvements

Recent testing by Consumer Reports reveals ongoing concerns over trace contaminants, including microplastics and phthalates, in popular baby foods, despite some companies making notable progress.

Consumer Reports has found that many popular baby foods still contain trace contaminants, even as some brands have improved their results in recent testing. In its latest round of checks, the advocacy group said a number of products came in below its level of concern for heavy metals, but it also detected phthalates, microplastics and, in one case, elevated BPA in products aimed at infants and toddlers.

The clearest improvement was seen in rice-based teething biscuits from Baby Mum-Mum. Consumer Reports said both varieties it tested were below its threshold for heavy metals, a marked change from its earlier testing in 2018 and 2023. The company said it has tightened its approach to rice-based foods, with special attention to inorganic arsenic, and that it now tests both raw materials and finished products under a revised programme linked to California’s AB 899 requirements. But Consumer Reports said it still found elevated BPA in three lots of Baby Mum-Mum Banana Teething Wafers.

Beech-Nut also recorded no heavy metals above Consumer Reports’ level of concern across eight products, though the group detected phthalates and microplastics in some samples. Cerebelly’s Organic Sweet Potato Chicken Broth pouch showed detectable DEHP, a type of phthalate, as well as microplastics, while remaining below the report’s heavy-metal threshold. Serenity Kids and Parent’s Choice, Walmart’s store brand, likewise stayed below the heavy-metal limit in the products tested, but Consumer Reports found phthalates in some items and microplastics in others.

Gerber remained the outlier on heavy metals. Consumer Reports said one of the 14 products it tested from the company, a rice cereal, exceeded its level of concern for inorganic arsenic. The report also identified phthalates, PFAS and microplastics in several Gerber products. Gerber said its foods meet applicable FDA limits and its own internal standards, adding that it tests crops, water, ingredients and finished products and screens for more than 500 toxins and contaminants. The company also said its testing covers bisphenols, phthalates and PFAS in raw materials and packaging.

Consumer Reports said Happy Baby Organics has improved since 2023, when its Superfood Puffs had the highest average arsenic and lead levels of any baby food the group tested that year. The product has since been discontinued. In the latest tests, no Happy Baby or Happy Tot products crossed the heavy-metal threshold, though phthalates were still detected in some snacks. Little Spoon told Consumer Reports it is expanding its “Always Tested” standard across its infant and baby range and publishes results through its Transparency Hub, while also calling for clearer government limits for microplastics and phthalates. Baby food makers Earth’s Best, Target’s Good & Gather and Plum Organics did not respond to the report’s requests for comment, according to Consumer Reports.