Baby Food Tests: Heavy Metals Down, Microplastics and Phthalates Up

On September 17, 2026, Consumer Reports (CR) published tests of 48 baby foods from 11 brands. Most were below CR's own heavy-metal risk levels, but phthalate plasticizers turned up in 81 percent of products and microplastics in all 15 purées tested, with one purée measuring about 814,000 particles per serving.

Key Takeaways

• On September 17, 2026, Consumer Reports published testing results for 48 infant products across 11 brands, with 96 percent below CR's own heavy-metal risk levels (not federal limits).
• Inorganic arsenic appeared in 77 percent of products, cadmium in 80 percent, and lead in 85 percent, with two products exceeding CR's arsenic level.
• Microplastics were found in all 15 purées tested, in both plastic pouches and glass jars, and phthalates in 81 percent of products.
• Contaminants like these are not ingredients, so they never appear on the ingredient panel.
• Parents can decrease exposure by rotating away from pure rice cereals, warming food in glass rather than plastic, and checking the brand's published test results.

What happened in the Consumer Reports testing?

On September 17, 2026, Consumer Reports published results for 48 store-bought baby foods from 11 brands, including cereals, purées, puffs, bars, teething biscuits and juice. CR tested for lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, bisphenols, phthalates, PFAS and microplastics.

CR says it found lower heavy-metal levels in many purées, puffs and cereals than in its earlier tests. Across all 48 products, 96 percent measured below the organization's heavy-metal safety thresholds. Trace contamination persisted widely, however: inorganic arsenic occurred in 77 percent of samples, cadmium in 80 percent, and lead in 85 percent. Only two products, representing approximately 4.2 percent of the evaluated batch, breached the benchmark limit for inorganic arsenic, one of them Gerber Rice Cereal.

Plastics-related chemicals were more widespread. CR tested one juice and 15 purées, sold in both plastic pouches and glass jars, for microplastics and found evidence of them in every purée; one Parent's Choice (Walmart) carrot purée measured about 814,000 particles per 113-gram tub. Phthalates were found in 81 percent of products. About 40 percent of products (19 of 48) had levels of the phthalate DEHP above amounts that recent research associates with negative health effects, although CR says the levels were below risk levels in its own calculations. CR also flagged one rice-based teething wafer for high BPA. PFAS were not a concern in these results.

What changed in baby food contamination?

The results point to two different kinds of problem. Heavy metals enter agricultural commodities when root networks absorb naturally occurring or industrial mineral residues from soil and irrigation water. They are still detectable in most products, but mostly at lower levels.

Microplastics and phthalates are different: microplastics are small plastic fragments, and phthalates are plasticizers used to make plastics such as PVC flexible. Both can come from the environment, processing equipment or packaging, and CR found microplastics in glass-jar purées too, so the pouch is not the whole story. Unlike structured food additives examined in our overview of Emulsifiers on Ingredient Lists Explained: Lecithin to Polysorbate 80, packaging migrants are not intentional recipe ingredients.

Because manufacturers do not add them as ingredients, they do not appear on the ingredient list. A one-ingredient purée can still contain them.

Who is affected by these findings?

The demographic facing the greatest biological risk consists of infants and toddlers between 4 and 24 months of age who rely on purees, cereals, and teething biscuits. Babies eat more food for their body weight than adults, so the same concentration means a larger dose per kilogram.

Rice-based products remain the main arsenic concern, because rice grown in flooded paddies takes up more inorganic arsenic than other grains, which is why the FDA suggests varying infant cereals.

Parents in California have one extra tool. Under California Assembly Bill No. 899, commercial baby-food processors must test for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury and make the results available to consumers, including through a QR code on the package.

What it means for shoppers at the grocery store?

For caregivers purchasing infant foods, the data demonstrates that relying solely on ingredient decks cannot protect against processing contaminants. Because microplastics and phthalate plasticizers migrate into the food matrix during packing and storage, an ingredient declaration cannot disclose them. Nevertheless, strategic handling and shopping routines can lower overall dietary intake:

• Rotate staple grains: Because rice accumulates inorganic arsenic, alternating rice cereal with oat, barley, or quinoa porridge reduces arsenic exposure from cereal.
• Never microwave plastic pouches: High temperatures accelerate chemical leaching and polymer breakdown; caregivers should empty puree into glass or ceramic bowls before warming.
• Scan verification QR codes: Products sold in California carry a QR code linking to the maker's test results under AB 899.
• Still read the ingredient list: it will not show contaminants, but it does show added sugars and additives; see Preservatives on Ingredient Lists Explained: Benzoate to BHA.

Current epidemiological and toxicological data cannot establish a definitive, uniform clinical harm threshold for every infant exposed to low-level microplastics or phthalates. Metabolic clearing rates, gut barrier permeability, and individual susceptibility vary widely, meaning the physical presence of microplastic particles in a puree does not automatically generate immediate acute illness.

The background behind infant food safety?

Public focus on heavy metals in manufactured baby foods intensified between 2021 and 2023, after a February 2021 U.S. House subcommittee report on toxic heavy metals in popular baby foods. In response, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration launched its multi-year "Closer to Zero" plan to systematically reduce dietary toxicant exposure in early childhood.

As part of this effort, the agency finalized guidance on action levels for lead in processed baby food in January 2025, establishing non-binding action levels of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for most fruits, vegetables, and grain mixtures, and 20 ppb for dry infant cereals and single-ingredient root vegetables. Proposed action levels for inorganic arsenic and cadmium remain under formal agency development. The analytical thresholds applied by Consumer Reports in its September 2026 report represent independent public health benchmarks rather than enforceable federal mandates.

Federal limits so far cover heavy metals. There are no US limits for microplastics in food, and CR itself cautions that its microplastic findings need to be put in context, since the health effects of these particles are still being studied.

What to watch next for baby food regulations?

Things to watch:

• FDA Closer to Zero: whether the FDA finalizes action levels for arsenic and cadmium in baby food, which are still at the proposal stage.
• State testing laws: more states are adopting testing-and-disclosure rules like California's (see our state baby-food heavy-metal testing laws explainer).
• Brand responses: whether manufacturers publish phthalate and microplastic data alongside heavy-metal results.
• Testing standards: there is no standardized regulatory method or limit for microplastics in food yet.