Study finds arsenic, BPA and lead in baby food products

Extreme dieting gets younger and younger. (iStock)

A study which looked at hundreds of baby food products found that 65 percent of the items tested positive for the dangerous chemical element arsenic, according to the Clean Label Project.

The nonprofit group, which describes itself as "focused on health and transparency in consumer products," said that it had “completed a study of 500 infant formulas and baby food products from 60 brands.”

The report said that other harmful chemicals were found in baby food products.

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According to the Clean Label Project, 36 percent of the items it examined tested positive for lead, 58 percent tested positive for cadmium, and 10 percent tested positive for acrylamides, a potentially toxic chemical compound.

Almost 80 percent of infant formulas also tested positive for arsenic, the group said. Researchers also found that 60 percent of “BPA-free” products actually tested positive for Bisphenol A, also known as BPA.

"The baby industry needs to do a better job in protecting America’s most vulnerable population," Jaclyn Bowen, the Clean Label Project's executive director, told USA Today.

Companies Gerber, Mead Johnson, and Plum Organics have since released statements saying their products follow safety standards, the news outlet reported, noting that the study wasn’t published in a peer-reviewed journal.