Advocacy for the health and safety of our youngest citizens has taken center stage as Attorney General Kris Mayes steps up pressure on the FDA. In a push to safeguard children from toxic substances in their food, Mayes has called upon the Food and Drug Administration and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to quickly to advance regulations that will protect infants and young children from the dangers of heavy metals in commercial baby foods. In a documented plea, Mayes highlighted a backlog of concerns that has been sitting with the FDA for over three years, arising from a joint petition by 20 state attorneys general. The collective demand is for the FDA to deliver industry guidelines that would preempt lead poisoning and unnecessary recalls of contaminated food products, according to the Arizona Attorney General Office.
"We all know how vulnerable babies are to toxic metals like lead," Mayes stated. She continued to express dismay at the FDA's inaction, deeming it "inexcusable" and emphasizing the urgent need for the agency to move forward with protecting children. The impetus behind her ongoing advocacy is backed by peer-reviewed research indicating that even low levels of heavy metals can have significant negative impacts on children's health and development, as reported by the Arizona Attorney General Office.
In recent instances of regulatory failure, major retailers like Target have had to recall baby food products due to high levels of lead contamination. The “Good & Gather” Vegetable Puree is one such product that, just this March, was removed from shelves nationwide. Further, the FDA's warning to Wanabana USA LLC about a lead poisoning outbreak in 2023 sparked by their cinnamon applesauce only adds to a troubling pattern of oversight. "Had FDA used the authority they have to issue guidance on finished product testing years ago as requested by my state AG colleagues, these recalls and lead poisonings might have been avoided," Mayes highlighted, pinpointing the delays as a core issue, a statement obtained by the Arizona Attorney General Office.
The call to action is not a solitary effort; AG Mayes has the backing of District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb among others. The coalition, which includes attorneys general from a spectrum of states, collectively pleads for the FDA to seriously to consider guidance on finished product testing. In a letter penned by Mayes, available to the public, it’s clear that the states are not relenting in their pursuit of stringent standards that will ensure children are no longer at risk from consuming off-the-shelf baby food products tainted with lead and other heavy metals, as per the Arizona Attorney General Office.
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