Paxton sues Gerber, Nestlé for over alleged toxic metals in baby food

AUSTIN (KVIA) -- Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Gerber Products Company and Nestlé USA for allegedly deceiving parents about toxic heavy metals in Gerber baby food.

Paxton said after Gerber tested its food, results showed dangerous levels of arsenic and lead.

"Gerber now posts test results behind a QR code on its labels. But the heavy metals in the food did not change, and neither did the safety claims on the front of the package. A code on the back of the jar does not cure a false promise on the front," Paxton said in a statement.

The attorney general said Gerber used batches of rice flour with more than nine times the arsenic the federal government allows in bottled water from 2017-19. Its carrots allegedly had 17 times the bottled-water limit for cadmium. Sweet potato products had nearly 10 times the limit for lead, Paxton said.

Paxton alleged that Gerber rarely tested its products for mercury.

"It tested selected ingredients rather than the finished food that a baby actually eats," Paxton said in a news release.

Federal health agencies rank arsenic, lead, and mercury first, second, and third among substances posing the most significant potential threat to human health. There's no established safe level of lead or inorganic arsenic for a baby.

Attorney General Paxton brought claims under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.

Paxton is running in the U.S. Senate race in Texas against Democrat James Talarico.