Toxic metals in baby food? Plum Organics agrees to new standards amid Texas AG investigation

AUSTIN, Texas - A baby food manufacturer has adopted new standards to ensure its products, including those sold in Texas, do not contain dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals. 

What we know:

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Plum Organics is the first company to take these steps following an investigation by his office into reports that heavy metals like arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury had been found in baby food. 

Plum was among multiple U.S. baby food manufacturers that were issued Civil Investigative Demands by Paxton’s office in August 2025. 

The company has now agreed to a settlement, saying it will be taking steps to strengthen its testing standards and increase transparency for parents, in part by continuing to publish the testing results online for products marketed and sold in Texas. 

Dig deeper:

Some of the standards Plum agreed to include following FDA guidance for testing and allowable levels of lead, adopting EU guidance for cadmium and inorganic arsenic, and keeping an internal standard of 10 parts per billion (ppb) for mercury in its baby food pouches. 

Any product that does not meet these standards will not be shipped out, officials said. 

What you can do:

Parents can search for testing results for specific products on Plum’s website using the UPC code, lot number, or "best by" date. 

Why you should care:

The attorney general’s office noted that small amounts of these heavy metals naturally occur in fruits and vegetables. Larger amounts are believed to cause serious health risks for infants and young children, including potential impacts on neurological development. 

What's next:

Paxton said he is continuing to investigate the baby food industry, and is calling on other manufacturers like Gerber to implement the same standards as Plum. 

"I will not allow dangerous amounts of contaminants and heavy metals in baby food. This is a commonsense issue, and I commend Plum for agreeing to strengthen its standards and provide parents with greater transparency about what is in these products," Paxton said. "My office will conti

nue to investigate the baby food industry to stop any company from misleading parents about the safety and quality of the products that they rely on to feed their children."

 

HealthTexas