Plum Organics, a leading baby food company, shares a recent Consumer Reports article entitled Lead in Food: California Requires Companies to Disclose Heavy Metal Levels in Baby Food, that named the company as one of the only brands that is voluntarily making their 2024 testing results publicly available.
Effective January 1, 2025, California law (AB-899) requires baby food brands to publish the test results for heavy metals in their products including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury. The law targets foods “specifically for babies and young children less than two years of age,” except for infant formula. The California Department of Public Health did not require 2024 test results to be disclosed on brands’ websites, so providing this additional transparency demonstrates Plum Organics commitment to build trust with parents.
“At Plum Organics we are committed to ensuring that parents and caregivers have clear, easy to access and timely information about all of our products,” said Alicia M. Vasquez, VP of Sales and Marketing, Plum Organics. “In addition to posting test results for 2025 and beyond, our team at Plum Organics chose to publish all 2024 test results to our website, for all consumers, for all products. Additionally, we focused on making access to this information easy for consumers by placing it all on our website – No lot code, purchase, or QR code required, unlike many other brands.”
Plum Organics tests each batch for heavy metals against our standards, established to align with leading regulations and guidance, including those set by the Food and Drug Administration and the European Union.
Ensuring that parents and caregivers have access to timely information remains a critical factor in the brand’s commitment to compliance and transparency. In early summer of 2024, Plum Organics began production of pouches with AB899-compliant packaging which employs the use of a QR Code that provides access to its heavy metal testing data. The law requires this information to be available to California consumers, but Plum Organics has made it available to consumers nationwide to assure that all consumers – regardless of geography – are afforded the same access.
The QR code is printed on the back panel of Plum Organics pouches, just above the UPC. When used, the QR code links consumers to the testing results for all lot codes associated with that flavor of product. These results are made available for the shelf life of that production lot.
In anticipation of the disclosure provision going into effect, Consumer Reports and Unleaded Kids contacted 30 baby food manufacturers, including those certified by the Clean Label Project, to inquire about the companies’ plans to disclose their test results. At the time it was published, Consumer Reports had received 17 responses and were currently awaiting responses from the remaining brands.
