Part 2 of the Baby Food Reality Check
What the numbers actually mean.
If you look up a test result you’ll hit numbers with no context attached. This is the context — the part that separates “I read the data” from “I saw a scary post.”
“Detected” is not a verdict
Modern labs detect vanishingly small amounts of nearly anything. Heavy metals come from soil and water, which means they turn up in carrots — including the ones you roast yourself.
So “detected” isn’t the finding. The findings are: how much, measured against which standard, at what serving size. Skip those three and you’ll panic over a number that’s fine — or shrug at one that isn’t.
There is more than one threshold, and they disagree
This is the single most misunderstood thing in the topic. When a headline says a product “failed,” the question is failed whose number.
A result can sit above California’s threshold and still be well under the FDA’s. That’s not a contradiction or a cover-up — it’s two regulators using different margins of safety. It does mean a single word like “unsafe” is doing far too much work.
The rest of the fine print
Four things that change how you read any result you find.
“Action levels” are not legal limits
In January 2025 the FDA finalized action levels for lead in processed baby food: 10 ppb for fruits, vegetables, mixtures, yogurts, custards and single-ingredient meats — and 20 ppb for single-ingredient root vegetables and dry infant cereals.
These are nonbinding and achievability-based, not health-based — root vegetables got 20 ppb partly because only 79% of products could hit 10. Worth knowing before you treat them as a safety guarantee.
Lead is the only one of the four that’s finalized
Despite four metals being tested, lead is currently the only one with a final FDA action level for processed baby food. Cadmium and inorganic arsenic guidance is still in progress.
One exception already in force: 100 ppb inorganic arsenic for infant rice cereal.
Watch the units — ppb vs ppm
Action levels are written in parts per billion. Contamination findings are often reported in parts per million. A number that looks small next to “10” can be a thousand times larger.
This is exactly how the 2023 applesauce numbers got misread in both directions online.
Infant formula is not covered by AB 899
The disclosure law defines baby food for children under two — and expressly excludes infant formula. If you’re looking for QR-code test results on a formula tin, that’s why you can’t find them.
Formula is regulated separately. Different rules, different oversight, different guide.
New breakdowns, every week
I read the labels, lab reports and filings, then post the short version. TikTok and Instagram get them first.
Educational information only, not medical advice. Formulations, disclosures and recalls change — always verify the current package and the current regulator notice before acting on a brand-specific claim.