BREAKING: High lead levels in kids’ snack puffs

[Consumer Reports]   Dear Friend, Consumer Reports’ latest tests of some kids’ puff snacks made with cassava flour – marketed as a healthier gluten- and grain-free option – have found the highest lead levels of all the baby foods we’ve ever tested, reigniting our call for the FDA to crack down on heavy metals in kids’ food. Lead is a neurotoxin. There is no safe level of lead for people to ingest, especially kids, since high lead levels can affect their cognitive and physical development, potentially resulting in speech and language delays, as well as behavioral problems. The FDA has only set heavy metal limits for infant rice cereals and apple juice – and those limits are for arsenic, not other heavy metals like lead. [Join us in demanding the FDA immediately remove products with high levels of lead from the marketplace, and set lead limits now on kids’ food and beverages.](  [Sign the Petition »](  We tested some snack puffs on the market made with cassava or sorghum as the main ingredient, since they are marketed as a healthy alternative to rice-based snacks, which can be high in arsenic. But our tests stand in stark contrast to the image the brands portray in their marketing: Lesser Evil’s Intergalactic Voyager Veggie Blend puffs had more lead per serving than any of the 80 baby foods CR has tested since 2017. A single serving of Lesser Evil's Veggie Blend puffs would provide 112 percent of California's maximum allowed daily limit for lead. Meanwhile, the two sorghum products from Once Upon a Farm – co-founded by actress Jennifer Garner – had some of the lowest lead levels of all the baby foods we ever tested, illustrating that some manufacturers do a better job at keeping heavy metals out. We informed the FDA of our test results. But they only would tell us that they are still determining how to regulate heavy metals in snack food (the agency did say it is finalizing limits on lead in baby foods this year, and fruit juices next year). Parents shouldn’t have to play a dangerous guessing game of what to feed their toddlers and kids. [Tell the FDA to immediately remove products with high lead levels from the marketplace, and to set limits NOW on all kids’ food and beverages.](  [Sign the Petition »]( We know this is concerning news for parents, so [here’s what you should know]( about cassava-based puff snacks, and how to minimize the heavy metals in your child’s diet. Don’t forget to act, and please share this email with any parents you know of young kids. Meg BohneConsumer Reports [Unsubscribe from Consumer Reports action alerts.]( © 2022 Consumer Reports, 101 Truman Avenue, Yonkers, NY, 10703 [Contact Consumer Reports](