95 percent of baby foods tested contain toxic metals, a new report states

There is a high chance that the baby's food contains traces of toxic heavy metals, including arsenic and lead, according to a new study.

The research, commissioned by Healthy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) and described in a report released Thursday, tested 168 baby foods for the presence of four heavy metals: arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium. They found that 95 percent of baby foods were contaminated by at least one of the heavy metals, and one in four of the baby foods tested contained all four heavy metals. Only nine of the 168 baby foods tested were found not to contain traces of any of the four metals.

Among the most risky foods are fruit juices, as well as rice-based products, including butter snacks and rice grains, since rice is particularly effective in absorbing arsenic, a common pesticide when it grows. Four out of seven infant rice mixtures tested contained inorganic arsenic, which is the more toxic form of the metal, at levels that exceed the Food and Drug Administration's proposed limit of 1[ads1]00 parts per billion.

Sweet potatoes and carrots are also big culprits since they are root crops.

The tested foods spread over 61 brands and 13 types of foods, including breast milk substitutes, biscuits, cereals and fruit juices. They were primarily selected by parents who volunteered with HBBF's partner organizations. Parents were asked to buy food from the most popular baby food brands in their local stores. Additional food was purchased online.

Download the NBC News app to break news and politics

Among metals, lead was the worst offender, appearing in 94 percent of the baby foods tested. Cadmium and arsenic followed, appearing in about three-quarters of the baby foods tested, and mercury was the least common, found in just under a third of the baby foods tested.

All metals except mercury are known or likely carcinogens. They are naturally occurring elements, and their frequent use of pesticides in the last century means that they still remain in the soil and find their way into the groundwater even decades after some of them have been banned from pesticides. The four metals are neurotoxic and pose serious threats to healthy brain development in childhood.

Exposure to these heavy metals can lead to lower IQ, for example. A data analysis also commissioned by HBBF showed that American children aged 0 to 24 months have already lost more than 11 million IQ points from exposure to arsenic and lead in food. Fifteen foods make up more than half of this IQ loss, and rice-based foods make up only 20 percent of it.

"Heavy metals interfere with the way the brain is supposed to be wired," registered nurse Charlotte Brody, one of the authors of the report and national director of HBBF, told NBC News. "Anything we can do to reduce the levels of these chemicals that children are exposed to just gives them a better chance of learning."

Additional effects of exposure to heavy metals include attention deficit, as well as learning and behavioral effects. [19659002] One way to reduce these levels of exposure to heavy metals is to push for the FDA to set regulations, Brody says. For nearly 90 percent of baby foods tested, the FDA has not provided guidance or set standards for the maximum safe limit for heavy metals, according to the report.

"The FDA should do more," Brody said. "It's the FDA's job to set rules that make food safe."

The FDA did not immediately respond to an NBC News request for comment on the study.

Meanwhile, Brody says families should not wait to offer children safer alternatives to foods with a high risk of toxic metal pollution. Parents can choose rice-free snacks and non-rice mixes, such as oatmeal and multi-grain cereals, to cut down on a source of heavy metal exposure. Making sure your kids eat a variety of vegetables beyond the usual sweet potato and carrot purees also helps, and swapping toothpicks for frozen bananas can make a difference. HBBF says alternatives such as these have 80 per cent lower levels of metals on average than the more risky foods.

"There are so many things that we cannot protect our children from; the places where we can give our children a better chance; we have a responsibility as parents and as a community to do what we can," Brody said. "Lowering the levels of these exposures is one thing we can do."