Beech Nut stops sale of some baby food due to high levels of arsenic

(FOX 5 DC) - Beech Nut is no longer selling their single grain rice cereal after Alaska state officials discovered high levels of arsenic, according to the FDA.

The company says it will recall the lot of products that were tested in Alaska and sold nationwide.

According to the FDA, the company "is concerned about the ability to consistently obtain rice flour well-below the FDA guidance level and Beech Nut specifications for naturally occurring inorganic arsenic."

There have been concerns about the levels of toxic ingredients in baby food since a congressional report published in February found that some baby foods contained dangerous levels of heavy metals that could "endanger infant neurological development and long-term brain function," including Beech Nut.

"Beech-Nut is doing what all baby food manufacturers should have done years ago--figure out a way to make baby food safely or stop selling products that are dangerous," PIRG Education Fund Consumer Watchdog Teresa Murray said. "Would any baby food executives want their children eating food with arsenic in it?"

Following the release of the report, the FDA said it wanted to work with baby food manufacturers to reduce metals in food.

In the Baby Food Safety Act of 2021, the FDA announced a plan to get toxic substances such as arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury to "as low as possible" levels in baby food. The FDA says they will study the issue for up to a year.