Trial Begins for Lead in Baby Food Case

A Proposition 65 trial involving the alleged presence of lead in baby food began this week in Oakland, Calif.  The lawsuit was filed by the Environmental Law Foundation, a nonprofit organization, which seeks injunctive relief from the Court, ordering that the companies making and selling the baby food—including Beech-Nut, Del Monte, Dole, Gerber, and Smucker’s, to name a few—provide a clear and reasonable warning that consumers of the products are exposed to lead, a chemical known to cause cancer and reproductive harm, and also that the companies pay civil penalties of up to $2,500 a day for each violation of Proposition 65.

The products involved include baby foods containing carrots, peaches, pears, and sweet potatoes, as well as grape juice, packaged pears and peaches, and fruit cocktail.

The Daily Journal, in covering the lawsuit, reports, “lead exposure can lead to miscarriages and organ damage in adults and low levels of lead exposure in children can cause brain damage and slowed growth, according to the federal Environmental Protection Agency.”  Possible sources of lead contamination include gasoline exhaust or coal plants, past use of leaded pesticide, contaminated soil, or leaching from metal processing equipment.

The defendants counter that the lead levels are low enough that a Proposition 65 warning is not required, that the lead is naturally occurring, and that the federal Food and Drug Administration’s food safety programs preempt a Proposition 65 warning.

“They don’t want to do anything that raises the cost, even by a penny,” said James R. Wheaton, head of the Environmental Law Foundation.  “It’s lead, for God’s sake, and it’s children.”    

The Chanler Group represents citizen enforcers who, acting in the public interest, commence actions against businesses offering products for sale in California that contain chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive harm without first providing the health hazard warning required by Proposition 65. Citizen enforcers bringing Proposition 65 actions in the public interest may obtain a Court Judgment imposing civil penalties, an injunction requiring reformulation of products, and/or provision of health hazard warnings. The Chanler Group has represented citizen enforcers of Proposition 65 for more than twenty years.