Heavy Metal Index

Survey of metals in commercial infant foods, infant formula and non-infant specific foods

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Source access

Publication
UK Food Standards Agency report FS102048
Year
2016
Authors
Food Standards Agency / Fera Science Ltd
Source type
government_report

FSA 2016 — Infant Food And Formula Metals Survey

Summary

This UK Food Standards Agency survey measured metals and related elements in 47 infant formula samples, 200 commercial infant food samples, and 50 composite non-infant-specific food samples used in infant diets. It is useful for Category 1 because it provides category-level average concentration tables for formula formats and infant-food groupings.

The Digest batch contains two byte-identical copies of this report; both have been recorded in frontmatter as duplicate raw paths rather than added as separate source pages.

Key numbers

  • Ready-to-feed first milk and hungrier milk: Al 18-34 ug/L, tAs 0-0.3 ug/L, iAs 0-0.2 ug/L, Cd 0-0.2 ug/L, Pb 0-0.4 ug/L, tHg 0-0.2 ug/L, Ni 0-9 ug/L, Sn 0-3 ug/L.
  • Ready-to-feed follow-on milk: Al 15-31 ug/L, tAs 0-0.4 ug/L, iAs 0-0.3 ug/L, Cd 0-0.2 ug/L, Pb 0-0.5 ug/L, tHg 0-0.2 ug/L, Ni 0-7 ug/L, Sn 0-3 ug/L.
  • Dry first milk and hungrier milk, as sold: Al 388-488 ug/kg, tAs 1-3 ug/kg, iAs 0.7-1.8 ug/kg, Cd 3-4 ug/kg, Pb 1-4 ug/kg, tHg 0-1 ug/kg, Ni 18-54 ug/kg, Sn 0-23 ug/kg.
  • Dry soy-based formula, as sold: Al 2550 ug/kg, tAs 7 ug/kg, iAs 4.6 ug/kg, Cd 11 ug/kg, Pb 0-5 ug/kg, tHg 0-1 ug/kg, Ni 200 ug/kg, Sn 0-23 ug/kg.
  • Cereal-based infant foods/dishes: Al 183-229 ug/kg, tAs 10 ug/kg, iAs 5-6 ug/kg, Cd 3 ug/kg, Pb 0-1 ug/kg, tHg 0 ug/kg, Ni 124-127 ug/kg, Sn 14-18 ug/kg.
  • Fruit-based infant foods/dishes: Al 1125 ug/kg, tAs 9 ug/kg, iAs 1-4 ug/kg, Cd 2-3 ug/kg, Pb 1-3 ug/kg, tHg 0-1 ug/kg, Ni 92-117 ug/kg, Sn 43-50 ug/kg.
  • Baby drinks: Al 453 ug/kg, tAs 2 ug/kg, iAs 1 ug/kg, Cd 0 ug/kg, Pb 3 ug/kg, tHg 0 ug/kg, Ni 0-9 ug/kg, Sn 0 ug/kg.
  • Other savoury based infant foods/dishes, no meat: Al 1995-1999 ug/kg, tAs 15 ug/kg, iAs 7-9 ug/kg, Cd 10 ug/kg, Pb 3-5 ug/kg, tHg 0-1 ug/kg, Ni 66-97 ug/kg, Sn 61-68 ug/kg.
  • Snacks: Al 5185 ug/kg, tAs 98 ug/kg, iAs 58-62 ug/kg, Cd 24 ug/kg, Pb 10 ug/kg, tHg 0 ug/kg, Ni 292 ug/kg, Sn 0 ug/kg.
  • Meat and fish based infant foods/dishes: Al 1425-1427 ug/kg, tAs 15 ug/kg, iAs 2-4 ug/kg, Cd 9 ug/kg, Pb 4-5 ug/kg, tHg 0-1 ug/kg, Ni 43-72 ug/kg, Sn 47-52 ug/kg.

Methods (brief)

The survey sampled branded products in 2013 and 2014. Dry powdered infant formula and dried cereal products were analyzed as sold rather than reconstituted. Values are presented as lower-bound to upper-bound averages where non-detect handling changes the result. Inorganic arsenic was measured directly only for samples with total arsenic above 10 ug/kg; for other samples, the survey used a 70 percent factor to estimate iAs, following EFSA-style exposure-assessment practice.

Sample count notes

The report gives group-level sample counts: 47 infant formula samples, 200 commercial infant food samples, and 50 composite non-infant-specific food samples. The concentration tables used for the product pages report category-level averages, but they do not show a separate per-category n for rows such as dry first/hungrier milk, dry soy-based formula, snacks, or fruit-based infant foods. Product-page rows should therefore describe these as group-level survey averages with per-category n not reported, not as rows with no sample count.

Limitations

The survey reports grouped averages rather than brand-level results. Some commercial infant food groups combine multiple finished-product forms, and the meat/fish grouping does not separate meat, poultry, and fish rows. Chromium is total chromium, not hexavalent chromium. Ready-to-feed formula concentrations are reported in ug/L rather than ug/kg because the matrix is liquid.

Implications

  • Certification: Useful A-tier category concentration evidence for infant formula formats and several infant-food product groups.
  • Courses: Strong example of lower-bound/upper-bound treatment and why non-detect handling must be disclosed.
  • App: Supports row-level and ingredient-list caution for soy formula, snacks, cereal-based foods, fruit-based foods, and meat/fish infant foods.
  • Microbiome: No direct microbiome endpoint.

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