My first Target run as a new dad, all I needed was formula. Fifteen minutes, tops. I walked out an hour and a half later, staring at cans that all promised something. This is the page I wish I’d had on my phone that day.
Guide · Baby
Baby formula: which tested cleanest
Consumer Reports has now tested 90 baby formulas for lead, arsenic and other contaminants across two rounds CR, Mar 2025 CR, Mar 2026. Here’s what came back cleanest, what got flagged, and what’s worth checking on the can. With the sources, and without the panic.
Read this first
A plain-language summary of public testing, not medical advice. Your pediatrician knows your baby; this page doesn’t.
Kamran’s story
What CR found in its 2026 round
49 formulas: 26 powders and 23 liquids (ready-to-feed and concentrated), including soy, goat, plant-based, organic and hypoallergenic CR, Mar 2026. “Top choice” means contaminants weren’t detected or stayed below CR’s level of concern. “Worse choice” means at least one was at or above it. CR says all of them are safe to feed. Names are exactly as CR published them. The format matters: the same brand can land in both columns.
Top choicesNot detected, or below CR’s level of concern CR, Mar 2026
Worse choicesAt least one contaminant at or above it CR, Mar 2026
The 2025 round (powders only)
CR’s first round tested 41 powdered formulas. It used an older, less strict arsenic benchmark: the EPA lowered its reference dose in 2025, and CR’s 2026 round uses the new one CR, Mar 2026. So compare products within a round, not across rounds CR, Mar 2025.
Top and good choices, 2025CR, Mar 2025
Worse choices, 2025CR, Mar 2025
What to look at on the can
Only things the sources back up. None of this replaces your pediatrician.
Why this is on you right now
The other side, to be fair
Get the next round
CR and the FDA are both still testing. Want the plain-English version when new results come out? Get my notes by email. Free.