Baby Food Safety Act 2021 example bill on desk.

Baby Food Safety Act of 2021

What is the The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 ?

(H.R. 2229), introduced this bill in the U.S. House of Representatives on March 25, 2021, by Representatives Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) and Tony Cárdenas (D-CA), and in the Senate on March 26, 2021, by Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), aimed to establish maximum allowable levels for toxic heavy metals in baby food and infant formula. The proposed limits were indeed specified in ppb, aligning with stricter standards to protect infants and toddlers. Specifically, the bill proposed the following maximum levels to take effect within one year of enactment:

Inorganic Arsenic: 10 ppb for baby food, 15 ppb for infant cereal
Lead: 5 ppb for baby food, 10 ppb for infant cereal
Cadmium: 5 ppb for baby food, 10 ppb for infant cereal
Mercury: 2 ppb for all baby food and infant cereal

These levels were significantly lower than the existing FDA guidance at the time, such as the 100 ppb limit for inorganic arsenic in infant rice cereal set in 2020. The bill also required manufacturers to test final products for heavy metals, post results online twice a year, and initiate recalls if levels exceeded these thresholds. Additionally, it allocated $50 million for research into agricultural methods to reduce heavy metal uptake in crops and mandated a CDC public awareness campaign about the risks of heavy metals in baby food.

Status of the Bill

The Baby Food Safety Act of 2021 did not pass during the 117th Congress (2021–2022). While it was introduced in response to a February 2021 congressional report highlighting dangerous levels of heavy metals in baby foods, it stalled and did not become law. The reasons for its failure to pass include slow progress in Congress, competing legislative priorities, and industry pushback citing feasibility concerns, as some manufacturers argued the proposed ppb limits were challenging to meet consistently due to natural variations in soil and crops.

Context on PPB

The bill didn’t explicitly aim to “shift” from ppm to ppb as a new measurement standard, as ppb was already used in some FDA and EPA contexts (e.g., 15 ppb for lead in drinking water). Instead, it proposed setting much stricter ppb-based limits for heavy metals in baby food compared to existing FDA action levels, which were either higher (e.g., 100 ppb for arsenic in rice cereal) or nonexistent for other metals in most baby foods. The use of ppb reflected the need for precision in measuring low concentrations to protect vulnerable infants.