Login
We Tested 48 Baby Foods for Heavy Metals and Microplastics
Consumer Reports’ most recent tests of packaged baby foods found lower levels of heavy metals in many purées, puffs, and cereals than we’ve previously seen. But for all of the FDA’s efforts to get “closer to zero” with harmful contaminants in baby food, manufacturers are still not there yet. Previous CR investigations in 2018 and 2023 found concerning levels of heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, mercury, and the metalloid inorganic arsenic in packaged baby foods intended for children under 2.
Since those tests, the FDA has made updates to action levels and guidance for specific foods, like infant rice cereal and apple juice. Some states have increased transparency around heavy metal testing. But the federal government has yet to create consistent, overarching regulatory limits for contaminants across all the different foods children consume. (Meanwhile, those kids who were babies back in 2018? They’re now in elementary school.)
For our 2026 tests, CR scientists analyzed 48 store-bought baby foods from 11 brands, including cereals, purée pouches and jars, puffs, bars, teething biscuits, and juice, for the heavy metals lead, cadmium, mercury, and arsenic, as well as bisphenols and phthalates. And for the first time at CR, some baby food products were also assessed for the presence of microplastic particles and forever chemicals.
Early Puberty in Girls Linked to Prenatal Neonicotinoid Insecticide Exposure, Study Finds
In a novel study of neonicotinoid insecticides (NNIs) and female puberty, published in Environmental Pollution, researchers find that prenatal exposure is associated with children’s bodies beginning to change into adult bodies too soon, known as precocious puberty (PP). PP has two distinct subtypes: central precocious puberty (CPP), which is caused by premature activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal (HPG) axis, and incomplete precocious puberty (ICPP), which is characterized by isolated breast development without full HPG axis activation.
NNIs are widely associated with a persistent decline in bee populations. “To our knowledge, this study provides the first evidence linking prenatal NNI exposure to ICPP in female offspring, as research in this field remains very limited,” the authors state. They continue, “To date, only one cross-sectional study by Yue et al. (2022) has reported that higher urinary thiacloprid concentrations were associated with premature axillary hair development in adolescent girls, suggesting a potential role of neonicotinoid exposure in altering pubertal timing.”
This is the first 10-year longitudinal study linking prenatal NNI exposure to early onset of puberty in girls, as well as altered maternal steroid hormone homeostasis, which is defined as the balance of sex steroids (progesterone, estrogens, androgens) and corticosteroids (glucocorticoids, mineralocorticoids) managed by the mother, placenta, and fetus to support healthy pregnancies.
Air Pollution May Influence Suicide Risk, Meta-Analysis Suggests
Exposure to air pollution showed positive associations with risks for death by suicide, attempted suicide, and suicidal ideation, according to a systematic review and meta-analysis. Across 29 studies, each 10 μg/m3 increase in exposure to particles with a diameter of 2.5 µm or smaller (PM2.5) or 10 µm or smaller (PM10) was tied to increased risks for death by suicide, attempted suicide, and suicidal ideation:
-
- Short-term (<6 months) PM2.5 exposure: OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.03
- Short-term PM10 exposure: OR 1.01, 95% CI 1.00-1.02
- Long-term (>6 months) PM2.5 exposure: OR 1.53, 95% CI 1.14-2.05
PM2.5, also known as fine particular matter, comes from vehicle exhaust, power plants, wildfires, and indoor activities like cooking or burning candles. PM10, or coarse particulate matter, primarily comes from dust, dirt, and debris.
A 10-ppb increase in long-term nitrogen dioxide exposure was also linked to an elevated risk (OR 1.32, 95% CI 1.06-1.63), reported Sophie Marie Jones, PhD, of Queen’s University Belfast in Ireland, and colleagues in the Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
Air Pollution Linked to Eye Condition Affecting Millions, Scientists Warn
Air pollution may be affecting more than just heart and lungs. A new analysis of existing research suggests that exposure to polluted air, particularly fine particulate matter known as PM₂.₅, is associated with a higher risk of serious eye diseases, including glaucoma and cataracts.
Researchers carried out a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether air pollution could be linked to common eye conditions, an area that has received far less attention than the well-established effects of pollution on cardiovascular and respiratory health. The study was presented at the 44th Congress of the European Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgeons on Monday.
To investigate the issue, they gathered and combined findings from 41 observational studies involving data from millions of people. The research included studies conducted in East Asia and the United Kingdom and drew information from some of the world’s largest eye-health databases. The authors stressed that the study does not prove air pollution directly causes glaucoma or cataracts. Because the analysis was based on observational studies, it can identify associations rather than establish cause and effect.
Trump Administration Sued for Records Detailing Role of Former Industry Lobbyists in EPA’s Reapproval of Dangerous Pesticide
The Center for Biological Diversity reported:
The Center for Biological Diversity sued the Trump administration today for withholding public records detailing the efforts of politically appointed industry insiders at the Environmental Protection Agency to reapprove the dangerous, drift-prone pesticide dicamba. The lawsuit comes after documents previously obtained by the Center revealed the involvement of former chemical industry lobbyist Nancy Beck and former soybean lobbyist Kyle Kunkler in jumpstarting the reapproval of dicamba, a pesticide that two federal courts previously struck down in 2020 and in 2024.
“If you’ve done nothing wrong, then you have no reason to withhold public documents,” said Nathan Donley, environmental health science director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “This administration hired industry lobbyists to oversee decisions of considerable public health importance and is now hiding their roles in those decisions from the public.”
Today’s lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, seeks communications about dicamba from Beck and Kunkler during the important time period between the EPA’s proposed and final dicamba decisions. Some documents have been held up in high-level review at the White House and others at the EPA administrator’s office.
Rivers Are Delivering a Staggering Amount of Microplastics Into the Ocean, Study Finds
Up to a quarter of all plastic flowing from rivers into the ocean are microplastics — delivering more than 260,000 metric tons in 2022, according to a new study published last week in Science. The staggering amount suggested there was more plastic pollution carried by rivers than previously estimated, researchers said.
Almost all — 96 percent — of the pollution was from rivers in developing countries, with more than half it coming from Southeast and East Asia, according to the study. The Yangtze River in China, for example, is the largest contributor, releasing an estimated 43,000 tons of microplastic per year, despite contributing only 2 percent of global freshwater discharge.
Countries are susceptible to more of that pollution when they have a combination of high total plastic use, high rates of mismanaged plastic waste, strong rainfall and high solar radiation, the study found. The plastic flow acts like a relay race: High usage and flawed waste systems mean there is a higher volume of microplastics, while rain and solar radiation help move and break down that plastic.
California Adopts New Limits to Rein in Dairy Manure Pollution and Its ‘outsized’ Groundwater Impacts
The California valley with the most dairy farms in the state will follow stricter water pollution requirements following years of advocacy and a marathon six-hour meeting this week. The State Water Resources Control Board unanimously agreed to adopt the regulations under what several environmental groups call a long overdue dairy order.
Nitrogen from the manure dairies produce turns into excess nitrate in soil, waterways and groundwater, and can eventually contaminate drinking water. Families and children in the Central Valley “are living in crisis,” said Leslie Martinez, of the Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability and Defensores del Valle Central para el Aire y Agua Límpio (Central Valley Defenders of Clean Air and Water), a group of San Joaquin Valley residents.
“Low-income rural communities of color rely heavily on shallow groundwater and face the greatest exposure,” Martinez said during Tuesday’s meeting in Sacramento.
More than 700 dairies in the state — concentrated in the Central Valley — are within 1 mile of an area at high risk for nitrate groundwater contamination, according to state figures from last September.
