Florida officials on Friday warned parents about certain brands of infant formula, saying tests conducted by the state showed potentially unsafe levels of heavy metals.
First Lady Casey DeSantis said the state tested 24 infant formulas and found that 16 contained heavy metal or chemicals. The samples were obtained through a variety of means, including ordering online, to make sure that it was “not a one-off shipment.”
The state has placed the testing results on a website called exposingfoodtoxins.com and those results show that the heavy metals included mercury, arsenic, lead, and cadmium. The brands tested include several manufactured by national industry leaders.
Infant formulas are not regulated by the state, but Casey DeSantis said it is important Florida and other states do independent testing to “drive accountability.”
“Parents should not be expected to verify the integrity of products on their own,” she said.
The push by Florida to test infant formula comes several months after Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. directed the Food and Drug Administration to look at ingredients used in infant formula. Before he joined the administration of President Donald Trump, Kennedy promised to look at whether there were toxic metals in infant formula.
The first lady discussed the infant formula testing during an event in Bartow that also featured Gov. Ron DeSantis and State Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo.
In his remarks, Ladapo contended the results produced an “understatement of the risk” because infants can be subject to greater harm given their size, weight, and developmental stage.
He added that, of the items tested, “mercury is probably one of the most toxic things you can put in a person’s body.”
Gov. DeSantis only briefly touched on the infant formula testing results, but called the effort part of Florida’s efforts to bring “transparency” to medicine and food. He did briefly repeat his support for a bill that would bar physicians from refusing to treat someone if that person has refused to get vaccinated.
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