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Baby Food Manufacturer Agrees to Reduce Levels of Lead in Its Products

  • California AG Rob Bonta reached a settlement with baby food manufacturer Perrigo Company and two of its subsidiaries (collectively, “Perrigo”) to resolve allegations that Perrigo did not warn consumers about the levels of lead in its infant and toddler food products in violation of California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act (known as “Proposition 65”) and Unfair Competition Law.
  • The complaint, filed against Perrigo and three retailers that sold Perrigo’s products, alleged that Perrigo violated Proposition 65 and California’s Unfair Competition Law by knowingly manufacturing products with lead and failing to provide the requisite warning to consumers.
  • Under the terms of the consent judgment, Perrigo agreed to limit the lead levels in its infant and toddler formula products sold in California to no higher than 5-7 parts per billion. Perrigo will also be required to establish sourcing and control protocols, consult with an independent auditor, and conduct compliance testing to ensure its products do not exceed the maximum permitted lead levels, among other things.
  • As previously reported, a group of 23 Democratic AGs, including AG Bonta, petitioned the FDA to set limits on the permissible levels of heavy metals in baby food, asking it to issue interim proposed action levels for arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury in all categories of infant and toddler foods and issue guidance to the baby food industry that manufacturers should test finished products to limit the concentration of the four heavy metals in their baby food products.