When parents think about feeding their children, we are often concerned about what’s in the food we’re buying and cooking. But it’s not just what goes IN baby food that’s important, but also what is NOT in there. Let’s break down which naturally occurring elements belong in our food, and which don’t–and how we can take precautions to ensure our food has the lowest levels possible.
ARMING YOURSELF
Understanding that heavy metals are naturally occurring elements pervasive in the Earth’s crust, originating from geological processes that have spanned billions of years is imperative. Arsenic, Cadmium, Lead, and Mercury are part of the periodic table, alongside familiar elements like oxygen and hydrogen—the building blocks of water. While these heavy metals pose legitimate concerns, they are inherent components of our environment and cannot be fully eliminated from consumer products without compromising essential nutrients vital for growth and development, especially in infant and children’s nutrition.
We take pride in our selection of ingredients. We closely follow our USDA organic and non-GMO certifications to ensure we source the highest quality ingredients.
Ingredient selection is especially important. Nutritional powerhouses like sweet potatoes and carrots, for example, are more susceptible to absorbing heavy metals in the soil.For those ingredients, even organic ingredients, we ask our farmers to test their ingredients and agree to specifications for low heavy metal content. We don’t stop there, we send samples from each batch of produce off to a third-party certified lab to test for lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic before we use that ingredient to make any Cerebelly flavor.
We all need standards! Cerebelly goes above and beyond by taking many precautions to ensure our food has the lowest levels possible. We pull random samples from each finished batch of product and send it out to be tested by a third-party certified lab to verify all our standards have been met. We won’t release any product until all testing has been completed and passes our criteria. On top of all of this, we have proudly earned a Certification and Purity Award from Clean Label Project, a third-party non-profit that tests for contaminants including heavy metals, chemicals, plastics, pesticides, and more. Clean Label Project’s data has been peer-reviewed and their certification criteria align with California’s Proposition 65 standards and the European Union’s stringent regulations, underscoring their dedication to safeguarding vulnerable populations, particularly infants and young children. Cerebelly also sits on the Clean Label Project Baby Coalition Group to help educate and advocate for better standards in heavy metal testing.
Not all heavy metals are bad! Growing brains and bodies needs SOME like Iron and Zinc – those are the good guys. In fact, they are considered essential nutrients that support things like immune function, growth, wound healing, development, cell production….the list goes on. A deficiency in these types of nutrients can lead to stunted growth in children and adolescents. So be sure to always read your labels and check that your baby food has adequate levels of these essential nutrients your little one needs. As always, we recommend consulting with your pediatrician or healthcare provider.
Have more questions? Send us an email at parentingisanart@cerebelly.com and we will be sure to get back to you!
Did you know?
All Cerebelly products undergo rigorous, independent testing for hundreds of different contaminants including heavy metals, chemicals, plastics, pesticides and other toxins?
It’s true! We are the first shelf-stable baby food to receive this incredible honor and are excited to lead the way.
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