Login
Target Baby Food Voluntarily Recalled Due to ‘Elevated Levels of Lead’
One type of baby food sold under Target’s Good & Gather brand is being voluntarily recalled due to “elevated levels of lead,” according to a report from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Fruselva USA, a Miami-based producer, issued a voluntary recall of 25,600 units of Good & Gather baby Pea Zucchini Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree on March 12.
The FDA classified it as a Class II recall on April 3. The Class II designation indicated that “use of or exposure to a violative product may cause temporary or medically reversible adverse health consequences or where the probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote,” according to the agency.
The nationwide recall affects 4-ounce containers of the Good & Gather baby Pea Zucchini Kale & Thyme Vegetable Puree with the UPC code 1 91907-99314 1. The tubs bear the phrases “Distributed by Target Corporation, Minneapolis, MN 55403” and “Product of Colombia.”
CDC Denies Milwaukee’s Request for Help With MPS Lead Poisoning Probe. RFK Jr. Slashed Jobs.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported:
Milwaukee health officials investigating widespread lead contamination at Milwaukee Public Schools will not receive on-site help from a team of federal experts, in the wake of mass layoffs of federal health workers.
The city’s request for help, submitted to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last month, was denied on April 3 “due to the complete loss” of the CDC’s lead poisoning prevention branch, according to an email from a CDC official obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
All of the federal program’s workers were laid off earlier this month, part of mass layoffs announced by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CBS News and other national news outlets have reported.
The city’s request for expert CDC help, called Epi-Aid, was made on March 26 and sought on-site help from a small team of CDC experts for at least two weeks beginning in late April.
Seven MPS schools have been identified as having lead hazards and several have been temporarily closed for lead remediation.
RFK Jr. Blames These 5 Environmental Toxins for a Spike in Autism Cases
Autism diagnoses have exploded in recent years. Now, an estimated 1 in 31 U.S. children have autism — up from 1 in 59 in 2014 — according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. A 2024 study, meanwhile, showed that the number of children and adults diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder has increased by 175% over a decade.
Leading the current conversation about autism rates is Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who in a press conference on Wednesday brought even more urgency to the rise in diagnoses — claiming the surge is caused by “an environmental toxin.”
“Somebody made a profit by putting that environmental toxin into our air, our water, our medicines, our food, and it’s to their benefit to normalize it. But that’s not good for our country,” Kennedy said.
Scientists believe multiple causes could act together, but more research needs to be done. A recent study out of China, for example, established a connection between gestational diabetes — diabetes during pregnancy, which affects up to 9% of U.S. pregnancies — and autism (as well as other brain and nervous system problems).
Amid Deadly Measles Outbreak, California’s Childhood Vaccination Rates Are Falling
Before the pandemic, Lillian Lopez never questioned the safety of vaccines. That’s why all her children are up to date on their immunizations. The Bakersfield mother of three used to be religious about getting her flu shot. She never missed a year.
No more. Lopez, 45, took offense at how COVID-19 vaccine mandates and restrictions were enforced. The experience gave her pause about the integrity of the entire public health apparatus. Now, she questions every shot.
“I do have doubts, I don’t have the trust that I did in the past,” said Lopez, who also feels safer from infectious diseases in Kern County than in a more populous area. “I think it put fear in a lot of people. All this time, we’ve been trusting the CDC, the health organizations, but can we really trust them?”
Against the backdrop of this rise in vaccine skepticism, California reported a drop in the rate of kindergartners immunized against measles last year, fueling fears that there may be a resurgence of the once-vanquished disease amid the deadly outbreak in West Texas. One of the world’s most infectious diseases, measles can be spread by breathing in air exhaled by someone else. While there have only been nine cases reported in California thus far, Texas is now the epicenter of a spiraling outbreak with 712 cases, including the first deaths linked to the disease in a decade.
A Deadly E. Coli Outbreak Hit 15 States, but the FDA Chose Not to Publicize It
An E. coli outbreak linked to romaine lettuce ripped across 15 states in November 2024, sickening dozens of people, including a 9-year-old boy in Indiana who nearly died of kidney failure and a 57-year-old Missouri woman who fell ill after attending a funeral lunch. One person died. But chances are you haven’t heard about it.
According to an internal report obtained by NBC News, the FDA did not name the companies because no contaminated lettuce was left by the time investigators uncovered where the pathogen was coming from.
“There were no public communications related to this outbreak,” the FDA said in its report, which noted that there had been a death but provided no details about it.
Federal officials are not required by law to reveal detailed information about all known outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, and there are reasons the FDA may choose not to publicize an outbreak, including when the cause is unknown or when officials are still working behind the scenes with the companies responsible.
Michigan Sees 1,792% Increase in Whooping Cough: What Parents Should Know
Another highly contagious vaccine-preventable illness is on the rise in Michigan as uptake for decades-old shots has declined in recent years.
Pertussis, a respiratory illness also known as whooping cough, sickened 2,081 residents in 2024. It was the third consecutive annual increase, and a 19-fold jump from the 110 cases reported in 2023.
Doctors say people of all ages need the whooping cough vaccine that saw a 1,792% increase in cases. So far in 2025, Michigan health officials have identified 497 cases, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
The bacterial infection is known to cause severe coughing fits in children, lasting weeks to months. It can be severe, and even fatal, especially for babies who may abruptly stop breathing.
