peekthelabel
← The Baby Food Reality Check

Part 5 of the Baby Food Reality Check

Why you can see any of this at all.

None of this information existed publicly three years ago. It exists now because of one California law — and because the Attorney General had to remind companies what publishing means.

AB 899, in plain language

Short version: a California law, newer and messier than most coverage suggests.

Covered baby food manufacturers must test a representative sample of each production run at least monthly for arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, at an accredited lab, and publish the results. Testing obligations started January 1, 2024. The QR codes on labels started January 1, 2025.

That order matters — it’s why journalists had a year of company-published data to analyze before most parents ever saw a QR code.

Two caveats worth carrying: the QR requirement only bites for elements that have an FDA action level, so in practice it’s currently about lead. And while the law is Californian, Gerber and Beech-Nut rolled QR codes out nationwide — so you may well see one outside California.

And in March 2026, the California Attorney General had to step in. The AG issued an enforcement advisory over companies that only let you view results after entering a code found on the package — meaning you had to buy the product before you could learn what was in it. The advisory says results must be publicly accessible without a package code, and that failing to do so violates California’s Unfair Competition Law. It named no companies.

Why the QR code on your pouch might show you nothing useful: the requirement only bites for elements that have an FDA action level — which today means lead alone. Cadmium and inorganic arsenic guidance is still in progress, so a compliant code can legitimately show you one metal out of four.

What to do with this

DoScan the code before you buy, from the aisle, and see whether it gives you a number. Don’tAccept a page that asks for a code printed on the package. That is the practice the Attorney General flagged.
DoFavor brands publishing lot-level results you can actually reach. Don’tRead easy disclosure as a clean result, or gated disclosure as a dirty one. They measure different things.
Keep going
Read the labelIngredient order, the repeat-exposure tally, and what to rotate. What the numbers meanppb vs ppm, the two thresholds that disagree, and why action levels aren't limits. Recalls, checked properlyThe six fields that must match — and the four recalls worth knowing. Look up your brand21 brands, sorted by whether you can see a result without buying first.
← Back to the full guide

New breakdowns, every week

I read the labels, lab reports and filings, then post the short version. TikTok and Instagram get them first.