Lawsuit Update Center
It has recently been discovered that many very popular brands of baby food products contained elevated levels of harmful heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, and mercury. These toxic substances are known to induce neurological and other health issues in developing children. The ingestion of these hazardous baby foods is suspected to be associated with the onset of conditions such as ADHD and autism.
Our legal team specializing in toxic baby food cases is currently open to new claims from children who suffered injuries or negative effects due to the consumption of these unsafe baby foods. If your child was fed Gerber brand baby food or “Earth’s Best” brand baby food and subsequently diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD or ADHD), autism, or another form of neurological disorder, contact our product liability attorneys today. You may be eligible for financial compensation.
UPDATES:
April 11, 2025 – New Lawsuit Alleges Permanent Injuries
In a new lawsuit filed yesterday, a family from Roseville, California, sued Beech-Nut Nutrition Company and Walmart Inc. as part of the baby food MDL, alleging that their son, L.W., developed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) due to his early exposure to toxic heavy metals in baby food. The family asserts that L.W. consumed Beech-Nut and Parent’s Choice branded baby foods—sold through Walmart—during infancy, unknowingly ingesting products contaminated with lead, arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and aluminum.
Filed directly in the MDL in Northern District of California, the complaint alleges that the defendants failed to adequately test for or disclose the presence of these harmful substances, despite internal knowledge of the risks. According to the family, L.W.’s exposure during critical periods of brain development led to neurodevelopmental harm manifesting in an ADHD diagnosis around age seven. The lawsuit emphasizes, as we all know, that neither the packaging nor any public disclosures warned the family about the risks, denying them the opportunity to make informed decisions.
The family brings claims for strict liability and negligence, alleging defective design, manufacturing, and failure to warn. They seek compensatory and punitive damages to address the physical, emotional, and economic impact of L.W.’s injuries, as well as to hold the defendants accountable for marketing tainted baby food to vulnerable children.
April 1, 2025 – Pressure Mounts on Baby Food Industry as MDL Grows
The baby food autism MDL added 29 new cases in March, bringing the total to 130. While filings have been slow in previous months, the recent jump could signal growing legal pressure on an industry that’s increasingly under the microscope.
In addition to this litigation, manufacturers are now facing state laws requiring heavy metal disclosures, public criticism from members of Congress, and renewed scrutiny from consumer watchdog groups. Even the FDA’s sluggish “Closer to Zero” plan is back in the spotlight—pushed forward by ongoing litigation and legislative frustration.
There’s a long road ahead, but make no mistake: the baby food companies are feeling the heat.
Heavy Metals Discovered in Baby Food Products
The presence of toxic heavy metals in baby food products was first discovered in 2019 by a non-profit organization called Happy Babies Bright Futures (“HBBF”). HBBF performed lab testing on hundred of different baby food products sold in the U.S. This testing found that over 90% of the products had unsafe levels of toxic heavy metals such as arsenic, lead and mercury.
The HBBF testing eventually led to a congressional investigation. In February 2021, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a report detailing the results of this investigation (the “Subcommittee Report”). The Subcommittee Report essentially confirmed the earlier findings reported by HBBF. It noted that products from major brands, such as Gerber and Earth’s Best, were found to contain dangerously elevated levels of toxins, including arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury.
The Subcommittee Report emphasized the perilous nature of these heavy metals, stressing that even minimal exposure poses a serious threat to human health. Both the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have issued warnings regarding the potential dangers associated with these toxic elements. For infants and young children, the risks are particularly pronounced, as research studies endorsed by the FDA indicate that neurologic damage and interference with brain development can result from exposure to these hazardous metals.
Disturbingly, the report revealed that food manufacturers, including Gerber, were aware of the presence of these toxins in their products. Instead of adhering to established safety standards, these companies opted to set their own criteria for what they deemed “safe” levels of these elements. Furthermore, the investigation uncovered a pattern of negligence, with food makers consistently disregarding their own elevated standards despite internal testing revealing excessive levels of the identified metals.
Contaminated Baby Foods May Cause Autism and Neurologic Damage
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurological condition that affects an individual’s ability to engage in social interactions, communicate effectively, and learn in typical ways. Autism varies in severity and presents with a wide range of symptoms, but it is not a condition that can be cured.
The exact causes of autism remain unclear, but substantial evidence suggests that exposure to heavy metals in early life can contribute to its development. While defendants in legal cases may attempt to dispute this connection, mainstream scientific and medical organizations, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acknowledge that lead exposure can result in neurodevelopmental effects linked to autistic behaviors.
A 2016 consensus statement from leading epidemiologists, autism researchers, and medical organizations identified lead and mercury as neurotoxic substances that may contribute to ASD. Further supporting this, a study by the Healthy Babies Bright Futures organization found that 95% of baby food samples tested contained toxic heavy metals, with one in four containing arsenic, lead, and mercury. Other studies have consistently linked early-life exposure to these heavy metals with an increased risk of ASD.
Multiple research methodologies—including cohort studies, prenatal analyses, case-control studies, cross-sectional research, and meta-analyses—have repeatedly demonstrated a strong association between heavy metal exposure and autism. Across different countries, research teams, and study designs, the findings remain consistent: toxic metals present in baby food are a significant risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism.
The growing body of scientific evidence makes it increasingly difficult to ignore the role of toxic heavy metals in the development of autism. Numerous studies over the past decade have established a clear and concerning pattern—early exposure to these harmful substances, particularly during infancy and early childhood, is strongly associated with an increased likelihood of developing ASD.
Arsenic & Lead Contamination in Baby Foods
Arsenic, a highly toxic substance commonly employed as a poison, was detected in all tested baby food brands according to the Subcommittee Report. Notably, two brands, Gerber and Earth’s Best, exhibited alarmingly elevated levels that surpass the FDA’s safety standards.
The FDA has established a maximum safe level of arsenic in food or water at 10 parts per billion (“ppb”). Shockingly, Earth’s Best baby food, produced by Hain Celestial Group, Inc., was found to contain arsenic at a staggering 129 ppb – surpassing the FDA’s safe level by 13 times. Gerber brand baby foods also tested positive for high arsenic levels at 90 ppb.
In addition to arsenic, unsafe levels of lead were identified in the same two baby food brands. Earth’s Best baby food recorded 352 ppb of lead, while Gerber brand food contained 48 ppb. To put this into perspective, the FDA’s maximum safe level of lead for bottled water is set at 5 ppb. Consequently, the contaminated baby food contained lead levels that were 70 times higher than the established maximum safe level.
Contaminated Baby Food Lawsuits
The evidence revealing the contamination levels in many leading baby food brands led to an immediate round of product liability lawsuits. The lawsuits are being filed by parents who fed the contaminated baby foods to children who were later diagnosed with various neurologic and/or cognitive disorders, or developmental/behavioral conditions.
Based largely on the findings in the Subcommittee Report, the lawsuits allege that the baby food manufacturers knew that their baby food products contained dangerously high levels of toxic metals such as lead and arsenic. The claims assert that the manufacturers intentionally concealed and/or failed to disclose these contamination levels to consumers.
The plaintiffs in these cases are children who were exposed to these toxic heavy metals from consuming the defendants’ baby foods during critical developmental stages. As a result, they suffered brain injuries, leading to diagnoses of neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The connection between exposure to these metals and the development of ASD and ADHD is supported by numerous studies.
Is There a Baby Food Class Action Lawsuit?
In 2022, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation rejected a motion seeking to consolidate the toxic baby food lawsuits in federal courts into a new class action MDL. In January 2024, however, a new motion was filed asking the JPML to reconsider and create a new toxic baby food class action MDL in federal courts.
Who Are the Toxic Baby Food Lawsuit Defendants?
The companies involved are Gerber Products Company (owned by Nestle, Inc.), Hain Celestial, Inc.; Nurture, Inc. (owned by Danone, Inc.); Walmart, Inc.; Sprout Foods Inc.; Plum Organics (formerly owned by Campbell Soup Company); and Beech-Nut Nutrition Company.
Hire a Toxic Baby Food Lawyer
If you fed Earth’s Best, HappyBaby, Gerber, Beech Nut brand baby food products to your children and they have subsequently been diagnosed with neurologic disorders such as autism or learning disabilities, call our product liability lawyers today at 888-322-3010 or contact us online for a free consultation. We are currently seeking new toxic baby food cases from individuals who meet these criteria.
