Bench Trial Begins For Failure To Warn About Lead In Baby Food

by Long Island Attorney Paul A. Lauto, Esq.

The Environmental Law Foundation (ELF) is going to trial against baby food giants Gerber Products Co., Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp, Del Monte Foods and others, for failing to provide warning on their food labels that their baby food contains lead.  ELF maintains that defendants' failure to warn consumers of the lead contents in the baby food, is violative of California Proposition 65.  In support of defendants, the FDA stated that they have tested the alleged offending baby foods and have concluded that they contain levels of lead that are an "acceptable risk".

According to the Center For Disease Control (CDC), more than 500,000 children in the United States suffer from lead poisoning.  Excessive exposure to lead in children is widely believed to cause brain damage and low IQ, among other problems.  That is one of the main reasons why lead was removed and banned from house paint in 1978.  Gerber maintains that the lead is "naturally occuring" and cannot be prevented.  ELF proponents maintain that no level of lead poisoning is safe for our children and that even if the lead was "naturally occuring", it should be removed before selling the baby food. 

Read the full blog at www.liattorney.com/scales-of-justice.html.