Beech-Nut Product Testing Results

Beech-Nut routinely & rigorously tests samples of suppliers’ ingredients & our finished products for heavy metal levels.

Have questions?

Please email us at [email protected]

Data is available for single products, only, made on or after January 1, 2025. If you are looking for a variety or multi-pack test results, please select one of the items within the pack to see results for that item.
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Select Your Beech-Nut Product Type:

Short Jars (Classics & Meats)

Tall Jars (Naturals & Organics)

Pouches

Oaty Bars

Melties

Mini Waffles

Jammin' Waffles

Fruti Bites

Oaty Bites

Pouches with Meat

Puffies

Background on Testing

Q) What do these test results mean?

Lab analyses can detect the tiniest concentrations of heavy metal particles in foods down to the “parts per billion.” A 20ppb of lead result means for every one billion molecules of food particles, 20 molecules of lead were detected. For context, one ppb of water is equivalent to adding one drop of water to a 10,000-gallon swimming pool. Here are some other ways to think about it:

pool ppb explanation

We use our internal lab and select, few external labs to test raw ingredients and finished products. All of the labs we use, including our own, are ISO-17025 accredited, a rigorous accreditation that verifies results meet the same level of accuracy as the highest internationally accredited labs, including those of the FDA.

*Understanding ‘Parts Per Million’ | City of Saint Helens Oregon

Still have questions? Please email us at [email protected] with your questions about above explanation of your below results.


🏆 This item has received awards from the Clean Label Project: Clean Label Purity Award Certified Pesticide Free Learn more
	Your Finished Production Aggregate Test Result	FDA Guidance	European Union Food Safety Policy
Lead parts per billion (ppb):		≤20 (100% root vegetable purees), ≤10 (all other purees)	≤20
Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to lead: Closer to Zero: Reducing Childhood Exposure to Contaminants from Foods \| FDA Guidance for Industry: Action Levels for Lead in Food Intended for Babies and Young Children \| FDA
Cadmium parts per billion (ppb):		No current regulatory limit	≤40
Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to cadmium: Closer to Zero: Reducing Childhood Exposure to Contaminants from Foods \| FDA Cadmium in Food \| FDA
Total Arsenic parts per billion (ppb):		No current regulatory limit	≤20 (for inorganic arsenic only)
Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to arsenic: Closer to Zero: Reducing Childhood Exposure to Contaminants from Foods \| FDA Arsenic in Food \| FDA
Mercury parts per billion (ppb):		No current regulatory limit	No current regulatory limit
Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to mercury: Closer to Zero: Reducing Childhood Exposure to Contaminants from Foods \| FDA Mercury in Food \| FDA
Q) What do the numbers mean? This is the concentration level of the tested metal present in the aggregated sample within your product. For example, if the result is 20ppb, that means out of 1 billion molecules of food, there are 20 molecules of lead, cadmium, arsenic, or mercury. Q) Are Beech-Nut products safe to feed my baby or toddler? Yes, Beech-Nut baby food is as safe as any baby food you could make at home, and perhaps safer given we test our ingredients and conduct finished product testing as well. We take the responsibility to provide high-quality, safe, and nutritious food for babies and toddlers as our highest purpose. It is why we provide an array of options to support a varied and nutritious diet. For over 30 years, we have tested Beech-Nut raw ingredients in our jarred purees for heavy metal levels and are committed to continuously improving our processes to source high quality fruits, vegetables, and grains for our products. In addition to heavy metals, we also screen for up to 255 pesticides, toxins, and other environmental contaminants. In 2022, we started testing our finished products – meaning those products packaged and ready to be distributed to consumers, like you. This finished product testing has confirmed the accuracy of our ingredient testing for our products. Q) What does Finished Production Aggregate (Lot) mean? A “production aggregate” or “lot” means a quantity of product that is intended to have uniform composition, character, and quality. They are also known as production batches. Q) Why might “<" appear on some results? A “<” (less than) result means that the amount of heavy metals detected in a sample is so small, a number cannot be reliably quantified, due to limits in current testing science. The LOQ (or limit of quantification) is the smallest, or lowest, possible amount of metals that labs can detect through their testing technologies. While it is an extremely tiny amount, it may not be zero. Q) Why are there heavy metals in baby foods? Produce grown in soil absorbs heavy metal elements from the dirt itself. Those elements may be naturally occurring or present as a byproduct of industrialization. Q) Why hasn’t the FDA set limits for heavy metals in baby foods before? (Why does the chart show "no current codified regulations?") Reducing levels of environmental contaminants in foods is complicated. It is crucial to ensure that measures taken to limit arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury in foods do not have unintended consequences—like eliminating foods that have nutritional benefits or reducing the presence of one element while increasing another. Q) Still have questions? Please email us at [email protected] or visit our comprehensive FAQs about our heavy metals testing process. Our Food Safety Manager, Janeen Richey, breaks it all down on this blog post, too. What is Beech-Nut Doing About Environmental Elements, such as Heavy Metals & Metalloids? Ingredient Testing: We have an in-house testing lab where we test ingredients for environmental element levels using state-of-the-art, testing technology. We reject ingredient samples that do not meet our internal quality policy for naturally-occurring, heavy metals & metalloids taken up by crops’ roots during the growing process. Our internal, chemical testing lab has now gained ISO 17025 Certification, a global accreditation for scientific testing labs. Finished Goods Testing: In 2022, we began testing our finished goods to validate our ingredient testing results. “Finished goods testing” involves collecting random, representative samples of our baby food jars, pouches, cereals & snacks before they are distributed to consumers, then testing those samples with laboratory analyses for consistency with their ingredients’ testing results. Our finished goods process consistently verifies that our raw material testing is accurate. Rice Free: Beginning in 2022, we decided to stop using rice as an ingredient in our Beech-Nut branded baby food, due to our concern about the ability to consistently obtain rice flour well-below the FDA guidance level and our specifications for inorganic arsenic. Avoid the Peel: Heavy metals tend to accumulate in peels and outer casings. Our sweet potato and carrot purees are pre-peeled. A McGill University study showed that heavy metal concentrations were significantly lower in sweet potato flesh than in the peel, suggesting that when consuming potatoes grown under wastewater irrigation, the peel poses a higher health risk than the flesh. 40+ Ingredients We use a variety of fruits and veggies as ingredients. The FDA says feeding a variety of ingredients to your children is recommended to minimize their exposure levels to naturally-occurring, heavy metals & metalloids in some foods. Partnership In April 2021, the FDA announced its Closer to Zero Action Plan with a goal to reduce exposure to heavy metals & metalloids from foods commonly consumed by infants & young children. Beech-Nut is fully committed to working with FDA on the agency’s action plan and believes that establishing science-based FDA “action levels” for the presence of  naturally-occurring, heavy metals & metalloids in baby food is what is best for our industry and the families we serve.

Your Finished Production Aggregate Test Result

FDA Guidance

European Union Food Safety Policy

Lead parts per billion (ppb):

≤20 (100% root vegetable purees), ≤10 (all other purees)

≤20

Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to lead:

Cadmium parts per billion (ppb):

No current regulatory limit

≤40

Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to cadmium:

Total Arsenic parts per billion (ppb):

No current regulatory limit

≤20 (for inorganic arsenic only)

Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to arsenic:

Mercury parts per billion (ppb):

No current regulatory limit

Read more about FDA’s Closer to Zero Initiative and notable agency activities related to mercury:

Q) What do the numbers mean?

This is the concentration level of the tested metal present in the aggregated sample within your product. For example, if the result is 20ppb, that means out of 1 billion molecules of food, there are 20 molecules of lead, cadmium, arsenic, or mercury.

Q) Are Beech-Nut products safe to feed my baby or toddler?

Yes, Beech-Nut baby food is as safe as any baby food you could make at home, and perhaps safer given we test our ingredients and conduct finished product testing as well. We take the responsibility to provide high-quality, safe, and nutritious food for babies and toddlers as our highest purpose. It is why we provide an array of options to support a varied and nutritious diet.

For over 30 years, we have tested Beech-Nut raw ingredients in our jarred purees for heavy metal levels and are committed to continuously improving our processes to source high quality fruits, vegetables, and grains for our products. In addition to heavy metals, we also screen for up to 255 pesticides, toxins, and other environmental contaminants.

In 2022, we started testing our finished products – meaning those products packaged and ready to be distributed to consumers, like you. This finished product testing has confirmed the accuracy of our ingredient testing for our products.

Q) What does Finished Production Aggregate (Lot) mean?

A “production aggregate” or “lot” means a quantity of product that is intended to have uniform composition, character, and quality. They are also known as production batches.

Q) Why might “<" appear on some results?

A “<” (less than) result means that the amount of heavy metals detected in a sample is so small, a number cannot be reliably quantified, due to limits in current testing science. The LOQ (or limit of quantification) is the smallest, or lowest, possible amount of metals that labs can detect through their testing technologies. While it is an extremely tiny amount, it may not be zero.

Q) Why are there heavy metals in baby foods?

Produce grown in soil absorbs heavy metal elements from the dirt itself. Those elements may be naturally occurring or present as a byproduct of industrialization.

Q) Why hasn’t the FDA set limits for heavy metals in baby foods before? (Why does the chart show "no current codified regulations?")

Reducing levels of environmental contaminants in foods is complicated. It is crucial to ensure that measures taken to limit arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury in foods do not have unintended consequences—like eliminating foods that have nutritional benefits or reducing the presence of one element while increasing another.

Q) Still have questions?

Please email us at [email protected] or visit our comprehensive FAQs about our heavy metals testing process.

Our Food Safety Manager, Janeen Richey, breaks it all down on this blog post, too.

What is Beech-Nut Doing About Environmental Elements, such as Heavy Metals & Metalloids?

Ingredient Testing:

We have an in-house testing lab where we test ingredients for environmental element levels using state-of-the-art, testing technology.
We reject ingredient samples that do not meet our internal quality policy for naturally-occurring, heavy metals & metalloids taken up by crops’ roots during the growing process.
Our internal, chemical testing lab has now gained ISO 17025 Certification, a global accreditation for scientific testing labs.

Finished Goods Testing:

In 2022, we began testing our finished goods to validate our ingredient testing results. “Finished goods testing” involves collecting random, representative samples of our baby food jars, pouches, cereals & snacks before they are distributed to consumers, then testing those samples with laboratory analyses for consistency with their ingredients’ testing results.
Our finished goods process consistently verifies that our raw material testing is accurate.

Rice Free:

Beginning in 2022, we decided to stop using rice as an ingredient in our Beech-Nut branded baby food, due to our concern about the ability to consistently obtain rice flour well-below the FDA guidance level and our specifications for inorganic arsenic.

Avoid the Peel:

Heavy metals tend to accumulate in peels and outer casings. Our sweet potato and carrot purees are pre-peeled.

A McGill University study showed that heavy metal concentrations were significantly lower in sweet potato flesh than in the peel, suggesting that when consuming potatoes grown under wastewater irrigation, the peel poses a higher health risk than the flesh.

40+ Ingredients

We use a variety of fruits and veggies as ingredients. The FDA says feeding a variety of ingredients to your children is recommended to minimize their exposure levels to naturally-occurring, heavy metals & metalloids in some foods.

Partnership

In April 2021, the FDA announced its Closer to Zero Action Plan with a goal to reduce exposure to heavy metals & metalloids from foods commonly consumed by infants & young children. Beech-Nut is fully committed to working with FDA on the agency’s action plan and believes that establishing science-based FDA “action levels” for the presence of  naturally-occurring, heavy metals & metalloids in baby food is what is best for our industry and the families we serve.

Beech-Nut Product Testing Results

Select Your Beech-Nut Product Type:

Background on Testing

Q) What do these test results mean?

🏆 This item has received awards from the Clean Label Project:

What is Beech-Nut Doing About Environmental Elements, such as Heavy Metals & Metalloids?

Ingredient Testing:

Finished Goods Testing:

Rice Free:

Avoid the Peel:

40+ Ingredients

Partnership