Joint Coalition Letter- AB2302 (C. Rodriguez) Food Safety: Infant Formula
- ANA California Staff
- 7 hours ago
- 4 min read
The Honorable Catherine Blakespear, Chair
Senate Committee on Environmental Quality
California State Senate
1021 O St, Suite 3230, Sacramento, CA 95814
AB2302 (C. Rodriguez) Food Safety: Infant Formula-- Letter of Support Dear
Chair Blakespear,
On behalf of our members and supporters, the undersigned organizations and individuals write today to enthusiastically support AB 2302 (C. Rodriguez), Food Safety: Infant Formula. With our collective expertise in children’s health, environmental health, and consumer safety, we urge the California Legislature to take this critical step in protecting babies from heavy metals in the infant formula they rely on to thrive.
Background and Equity Issues
For many babies, infant formula is an important food that sustains their healthy growth. Four in 10 California infants are exclusively fed formula by the age of 6 months. Even among California infants who are primarily breast-fed, nearly 1 in 5 also received formula in the first two days of their lives.1 Babies in households with lower incomes are more likely to be fed formula than babies in households with incomes above 200% of the poverty line.2 This is due, at least in part, to less opportunities for paid leave and flexible work environments for new mothers (particularly in lower paying jobs). Over half of the formula produced in the US is consumed by babies who receive the formula through WIC, with eligibility linked to lower household income.
Federal Regulation of Infant Formula
Infant formula is regulated by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Existing federal regulations for infant formula are more focused on the prevention of contaminants such as microbes, glass, and sanitizing agents, rather than on the presence of heavy metals.4 The FDA has not set safety levels for heavy metals in infant formula.5 This is particularly concerning given that experts at the American Academy of Pediatrics state that there is no safe level of lead exposure in children, and that even low levels of exposure have been shown to impair cognition and neurodevelopment.6 Arsenic exposure is also linked to harmful effects on neurodevelopment .
1 U.S. Centers for Disease Control 2022 Breastfeeding Report Card. https://www.cdc.gov/breastfeeding data/media/pdfs/2024/06/2022-Breastfeeding-Report-Card-508.pdf
2 California Department of Public Health Perinatal/Infant Data Dashboards.
3 Pediatrics. Formula for a Crisis: Systemic Inequities Highlighted by the US Infant Formula Shortage (2024). https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10827642/
4 U.S. Food and Drug Administration Compliance Program Manual--Program 7321.006--Infant Formula--Inspection, Sample, Collection and Examination. https://www.fda.gov/media/71695/download?attachment
5 Food and Drug Administration Expert Panel on Infant Formula: Regulatory and Safety (June 2025. https://advances.nutrition.org/article/S2161-8313(25)00222-4/fulltext
6 American Academy of Pediatrics—Lead Exposure in Children. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/lead-exposure/lead-exposure in-children/
and increased risk of cancer, and early life exposures are especially dangerous for children.
7 Cadmium exposure is linked to cognitive and behavioral impairments that can inhibit learning.
8 Mercury exposure, especially in early life, is linked to neurotoxic and developmental harms.
9 Prevalence of Heavy Metals in Infant Formula
In March 2025, Consumer Reports published a report after testing 41 types of powdered infant formula for toxic chemicals, including heavy metals. At least half of the samples tested contained potentially harmful levels of at least one contaminant. For example, the highest level of arsenic detected was almost double the FDA’s limit for arsenic in bottled water.
10 The findings from Consumer Reports are very concerning; however, they also show that many formula manufacturers are successfully producing safer alternatives with no or low levels of the identified contaminants. The largest manufacturers—constituting nearly 80% of the national market—all had formula products in both the “best choices” (no or low levels of contaminants) and “worst choices” (levels of contaminants over daily limits) categories, demonstrating that they are currently capable of producing formulas without concerning levels of harmful contaminants.
11 Notably, these manufacturers already conduct testing for heavy metals, they just do not disclose the results—even to the FDA.
California as a Leader in Keeping Babies Safe
California has already set a precedent for raising standards for regulation of heavy metals in infant formula. In 2022, the California Attorney General’s office reached a settlement with formula manufacturer Perrigo after levels of lead exceeding the Proposition 65 warning threshold were detected in the company’s products.12 The settlement requires annual testing of infant formula to confirm that the maximum lead level outlined in the settlement is not exceeded. In 2024, the Attorney General’s office reached a similar settlement with Mead Johnson. This bill would build on those efforts by providing an industry-wide solution.
We urge you to support AB 2302 to protect California babies from harmful heavy metals in the formula they rely upon to grow and thrive. This will empower parents and caregivers to make informed choices about the formula that they feed to their babies. It will also provide pediatricians with valuable data to inform their recommendations to patients.
7 American Academy of Pediatrics—Arsenic Exposure. https://www.aap.org/en/patient-care/environmental-health/promoting healthy-environments-for-children/arsenic/
8 UNICEF—Cadmium and Children’s Health. https://knowledge.unicef.org/child-nutrition-and-development/resource/cadmium-and childrens-health
9 US Environmental Protection Agency—“Biomonitoring
10 Consumer Reports—“We Tested 41 Baby Formulas for Lead and Arsenic” (03/18/2025).
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11 Federal Trade Commission- Market Factors Relevant to Infant Formula Supply Disruptions (03/14/2024). https://www.ftc.gov/system/files/ftc_gov/pdf/infant-formula-report.pdf
12 Office of the Attorney General Signed Judgement (01/27/2022) . https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press docs/Signed%20Judgment.pdf
13 Office of the Attorney General Signed Judgement (07/29/2024). https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/attachments/press-docs/Mead Johnson Judgment.pdf
Sincerely,
(See attached letter for coalition signatures)
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