"I think it's scary that you're telling me something that's organic, which is kind of the go-to for moms who think they're being diligent. There's a problem," said a mother, Meryl.
Researchers at Dartmouth University tested 17 toddler formulas. Two were found to have high levels of arsenic, up to 6 times higher than what the government considers safe for drinking water.
ABC News has confirmed the two fomula's in question are Nature's One baby's only organic dairy toddler formula and baby's only organic soy toddler formula.
The manufacturer responded in a statement saying that: "Parents can rest assured that nature's one will test arsenic levels for every lot of organic brown rice syrup. (independent) testing results report undetectable amounts of arsenic."
But parents are not reassured.
"You have to go to the supermarket you have to buy food for your children, you have to be vigilant (about keeping an eye out of what's in the products)," adds Meryl.
And the problem is not just formula, the researchers also found higher levels of arsenic in (energy shots used by athletes) and cereal bars containing organic brown rice syrup. Arsenic was used for many years in pesticides, making its way into the soil and the foods we eat. (the message for now is to avoid formula and products that list organic brown rice syrup as one of the top 5 ingredients.
"We are going to be seeing that it will come to haunt us in terms of our food supply. What we need is to be looking at standards at foods in general," said Andrea Rock, Consumer Reports.
There is legislation in the works calling on the FDA to create standards for arsenic.
The FDA won't comment but says they are now testing rice and rice products and they expect results by spring of 2012.
In the meantime, since we don't have a great answer, the message is to avoid formula and products that list organic brown rice syrup as one of the top 5 ingredients.
LINK: COMPANY RESPONSE
LINK: ABC NEWS STORY
