Heavy metals in Infant Formula Powder

Infant Formula Powder overview

Infant Formula Powder in the HMI library has 2,520 reported results for lead, cadmium, total arsenic, inorganic arsenic, dimethylarsinic acid, monomethylarsonic acid, total mercury, nickel, chromium, aluminium, tin, antimony, uranium, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, V, Se, B, Ba, Bi, Ca, Ce, CrIII, CrVI, Cs, Ga, Hg, K, La, Li, Mg, Mo, Na, Nb, P, Rb, Si, Sr, Ti and Tl from 56 sources.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Abdelkhalek A, Elsherbini M, Gunbaej EE · 2015Assessment of Heavy Metals Residues in Milk Powder and Infant Milk Formula Sold in Mansoura City, EgyptAlexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences 2015, 47: 71-77Read source →3Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Arif Shahzad, Sang-Ho Yoo, Amir Ismail, Aneela Hameed, Tarig Ismail, Muhammad Riaz · 2017Determination of aflatoxin M1 and heavy metals in infant formula milk brands available in Pakistani marketsKorean Journal for Food Science of Animal ResourcesRead source →4Alyasiri T · 2024Detection of Aflatoxin M1 and Several Heavy Metals in Medical Infant Milk Formula Sold in Iraqi MarketsInternational Journal of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical ScienceRead source →5Al-Faraji ASAR · 2023The detection of some minerals in infant formula available in local marketsIraqi Journal of Market Research and Consumer ProtectionRead source →6Maria Luisa Astolfi, Daniela Marotta, Vittoria Cammalleri, Elisabetta Marconi, Arianna Antonucci, Pasquale Avino, Silvia Canepari, Matteo Vitali, Carmela Protano · 2021Determination of 40 Elements in Powdered Infant Formulas and Related Risk AssessmentInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthRead source →} WHO GEMS/Food submissions reported lead in infant Formula Powder, powder or ground from 2,126 results in 4 reporting regions, with subgroup medians from 0.25 to 23 µg/kg.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →} For cadmium, GEMS/Food gave a subgroup median of 2.5 µg/kg from 2,205 results.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

Across 12 other studies of ordinary farms and markets, reported lead means and medians on an as-sold or fresh-weight basis ranged from 4 µg/kg (Höpfner et al. 2025) to 141 µg/kg (Demir et al. 2023).^{8Tobias Höpfner, Melanie Wollenberg, Anna Jäger, Mandy Stadion, Christian Jung, Anna-Lena Klook, Oliver Lindtner · 2025The contribution of infant formula to the food survey-based dietary exposure of nine selected elementsJournal of Environmental Exposure AssessmentRead source →9Tugba Demir, Sema Agaoglu · 2023Estimated daily intake and health risk assessment of toxic elements in infant formulasBritish Journal of NutritionRead source →} For cadmium, 12 studies on an as-sold or fresh-weight basis reported means and medians from 0.39 µg/kg (Chekri et al. 2019) to 355 µg/kg (Lutfullah et al. 2014).^{10Rachida Chekri, Emilie Le Calvez, Julie Zinck, Jean-Charles Leblanc, Veronique Sirot, Marion Hulin, Laurent Noel, Thierry Guerin · 2019Trace element contents in foods from the first French Total Diet Study on infants and toddlersJournal of Food Composition and AnalysisRead source →11Ghosia Lutfullah, Abid Ali Khan, Azra Yasmeen Amjad, Sajida Perveen · 2014Comparative study of heavy metals in dried and fluid milk in Peshawar by atomic absorption spectrophotometryThe Scientific World JournalRead source →} Higher results came from contaminated or exposed settings rather than ordinary supply. Infant Formula Powder, powder or ground from Raw had CrIII higher at 2.72 µg/kg, against 2.51 µg/kg for Hot plate in the same study.^{7Saraiva M, Chekri R, Guérin T, Sloth JJ, Jitaru P · 2021Chromium speciation analysis in raw and cooked milk and meat samples by species-specific isotope dilution and HPLC-ICP-MSFood Additives & Contaminants Part A 38(2):304-314Read source →}

For a buyer the practical points are the form bought, the basis a result is reported on, where the infant Formula Powder came from and the laboratory’s reporting limit. Testing finds contamination but does not remove it.

What counts as infant Formula Powder

This page covers infant Formula Powder, powder or ground (2,520 results).^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Abdelkhalek A, Elsherbini M, Gunbaej EE · 2015Assessment of Heavy Metals Residues in Milk Powder and Infant Milk Formula Sold in Mansoura City, EgyptAlexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences 2015, 47: 71-77Read source →3Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Arif Shahzad, Sang-Ho Yoo, Amir Ismail, Aneela Hameed, Tarig Ismail, Muhammad Riaz · 2017Determination of aflatoxin M1 and heavy metals in infant formula milk brands available in Pakistani marketsKorean Journal for Food Science of Animal ResourcesRead source →4Alyasiri T · 2024Detection of Aflatoxin M1 and Several Heavy Metals in Medical Infant Milk Formula Sold in Iraqi MarketsInternational Journal of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical ScienceRead source →5Al-Faraji ASAR · 2023The detection of some minerals in infant formula available in local marketsIraqi Journal of Market Research and Consumer ProtectionRead source →6Maria Luisa Astolfi, Daniela Marotta, Vittoria Cammalleri, Elisabetta Marconi, Arianna Antonucci, Pasquale Avino, Silvia Canepari, Matteo Vitali, Carmela Protano · 2021Determination of 40 Elements in Powdered Infant Formulas and Related Risk AssessmentInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthRead source →}

Results stay on the basis each source reports: as sold or fresh weight, dry weight, or unstated. Dry-weight, as-sold and unstated results are never pooled, and no moisture conversion is applied.

Heavy metal contamination profile of infant Formula Powder

The table holds every extracted infant Formula Powder result: one row for each statistic a source reports for a form, group and metal, 2,520 rows in all, grouped by metal and form; percentiles, ranges and maxima for the same samples as a mean or median are shown on that row.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →2Abdelkhalek A, Elsherbini M, Gunbaej EE · 2015Assessment of Heavy Metals Residues in Milk Powder and Infant Milk Formula Sold in Mansoura City, EgyptAlexandria Journal of Veterinary Sciences 2015, 47: 71-77Read source →3Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Arif Shahzad, Sang-Ho Yoo, Amir Ismail, Aneela Hameed, Tarig Ismail, Muhammad Riaz · 2017Determination of aflatoxin M1 and heavy metals in infant formula milk brands available in Pakistani marketsKorean Journal for Food Science of Animal ResourcesRead source →4Alyasiri T · 2024Detection of Aflatoxin M1 and Several Heavy Metals in Medical Infant Milk Formula Sold in Iraqi MarketsInternational Journal of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical ScienceRead source →5Al-Faraji ASAR · 2023The detection of some minerals in infant formula available in local marketsIraqi Journal of Market Research and Consumer ProtectionRead source →6Maria Luisa Astolfi, Daniela Marotta, Vittoria Cammalleri, Elisabetta Marconi, Arianna Antonucci, Pasquale Avino, Silvia Canepari, Matteo Vitali, Carmela Protano · 2021Determination of 40 Elements in Powdered Infant Formulas and Related Risk AssessmentInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthRead source →} Monitoring medians are HMI calculations from individual submissions; non-detects remain intervals between zero and the reporting limit and are never read as zero.^{1World Health Organization · 2026GEMS/Food Contaminants database heavy-metal exportsGEMS/Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment ProgrammeRead source →}

1,102 rows can be rated against an HMI reference for the same form and basis, 231 rows have a direct same-study comparison, and the rest stay unrated with the reason recorded. 74 values from 13 sources failed a check against their own source and are shown but not compared.^{3Saeed Akhtar, Muhammad Arif Shahzad, Sang-Ho Yoo, Amir Ismail, Aneela Hameed, Tarig Ismail, Muhammad Riaz · 2017Determination of aflatoxin M1 and heavy metals in infant formula milk brands available in Pakistani marketsKorean Journal for Food Science of Animal ResourcesRead source →4Alyasiri T · 2024Detection of Aflatoxin M1 and Several Heavy Metals in Medical Infant Milk Formula Sold in Iraqi MarketsInternational Journal of Pharmaceutical and Bio-Medical ScienceRead source →6Maria Luisa Astolfi, Daniela Marotta, Vittoria Cammalleri, Elisabetta Marconi, Arianna Antonucci, Pasquale Avino, Silvia Canepari, Matteo Vitali, Carmela Protano · 2021Determination of 40 Elements in Powdered Infant Formulas and Related Risk AssessmentInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public HealthRead source →12Elsheikh MA, Ali DMH, Alotaibi SH · 2020Evaluation of Some Toxic and Essential Trace Elements in Children Foods and Infant Formulae by Using ICP-OESAsian Journal of Chemistry 32(6):1273-1278Read source →13Karimi Dehcheshmeh B, Shakerian A, Rahimi E · 2021Evaluation of Aflatoxin M1 and Heavy Metal in Raw Materials and Infant Formula Produced in Pegah Dairy Plants, IRANJournal of Chemical Health Risks (2021) 11(1), 55-62Read source →14Aram Dokht Khatibi, Maryam Bazzi, Davoud Balarak · 2024Investigation of heavy metal concentrations and determination of estimated daily intake and health risk index infant formula and baby foods in Zahedan in 2020Sigma Journal of Engineering and Natural Sciences 42(2): 614-620Read source →15Mumtaz A, Riaz M, Shafiq H, Ahmad U · 2025Occurrence and Risk Evaluation of Trace Metals in Infant Nutrition Sources in Rural and Urban Multan, PakistanFood and Nutrition InsightsRead source →16Igweze ZN, Ekhator OC, Nwaogazie I, Frazzoli C, Orisakwe OE · 2019Appropriateness of Essentials Trace Metals in Commonly Consumed Infant Formulae in NigeriaOpen Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences 7(23):4168–4175Read source →17Nancy Chuchu, Bhavini Patel, Blaise Sebastian, Christopher Exley · 2013The aluminium content of infant formulas remains too highBMC PediatricsRead source →18Sipahi H, Eken A, Aydın A, Şahin G, Baydar T · 2014Safety assessment of essential and toxic metals in infant formulasThe Turkish Journal of Pediatrics 56(4):385-391Read source →19Songul Unuvar, Ebru Kuyumcu Savan, Nagihan M. Karaaslan · 2017Determination of Element Concentrations in Commercial Infant Formulas Using Atomic Absorption SpectrometryAtomic SpectroscopyRead source →20Shiva Rahati, Fateme Asadi Touranlou, Asma Afshari, Mohammad Hashemi, Arezoo Orooji, Seyedeh Belin Tavakoly Sany · 2026Monte Carlo simulation approach for health risk analysis of heavy metals’ contamination in infant formula and food on the Iranian marketJournal of Health, Population and Nutrition 45:13Read source →21Domínguez A, Paz S, Rubio C, Gutiérrez Á, González-Weller D, Revert C, Hardisson A · 2017Essential and Toxic Metals in Infant Formula from the European CommunityOpen Access Journal of Toxicology 2(2):555585Read source →}