Texas sues Gerber over alleged heavy metals in baby food

The state of Texas has filed a lawsuit against Nestlé unit Gerber over alleged heavy metals present in its baby food, Food Dive, Yahoo, and NewsBreak all reported. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is seeking more than 10 million dollars in financial penalties from the manufacturer. [1][2][3]

According to Food Dive, the legal action claims Gerber failed to improve its safety standards or testing protocols after a 2021 congressional investigation. That probe revealed elevated levels of toxic heavy metals across the baby food industry. [1]

Food Dive reported that the federal investigation led the Food and Drug Administration to create its Closer to Zero initiative. The program aims to decrease childhood exposure to toxins by establishing strict regulatory limits on arsenic, cadmium, mercury, and lead. To date, the agency has only established limits for lead content. [1]

Nestlé was originally established in 1866 in Vevey, Switzerland, by Henri Nestlé, who created a powdered infant cereal to address child malnutrition and high infant mortality rates. [5]