Texas Attorney General sues Gerber and Nestlé over heavy metals in baby food

Who's involved

• Ken PaxtonTexas Attorney General, suing the companies
• Gerber Products Companydefendant
• Nestlé USA, Inc.defendant

The facts

• Paxton filed a 68-page lawsuit under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act against Gerber and Nestlé.^{2 3} Stated by 2 sources
• From 2017-2019, Gerber used 67 batches of rice flour containing more than nine times the federal limit for arsenic in bottled water.^{2 3} Stated by 2 sources
• Gerber's carrots tested up to 17 times the federal bottled-water limit for cadmium.^{2 3} Stated by 2 sources
• Gerber's sweet potatoes tested up to nearly 10 times the federal limit for lead.^{2 3} Stated by 2 sources
• From 2017-2019, Gerber rarely tested for mercury and primarily tested ingredients rather than finished products.^{2 3} Stated by 2 sources
• In 2021, Alaska's state laboratory found two samples of Gerber rice cereal that exceeded the federal arsenic limit.^{2 3} Stated by 2 sources
• Gerber now posts test results behind a QR code on labels but kept the same safety claims on the front of packages.²
• Nestlé acquired Gerber in 2007.³

Who said what

These are statements and claims made by the people involved. They are reported, not verified.

• Ken Paxton Gerber promised parents its food was safe and rigorously tested. Its own tests showed toxic metals.²
• Paxton lawsuit Gerber and Nestlé represented their baby food as safe, pure, and rigorously tested despite containing heavy metals.^{2 3}
• Paxton lawsuit Federal health agencies rank arsenic, lead, mercury, and cadmium first, second, third, and seventh on substances posing significant threat to human health.³
• 2021 congressional subcommittee Gerber would knowingly sell products with heavy metals to unsuspecting parents after internal documents were published.³