In a landmark ruling on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley granted parents the right to move forward with lawsuits claiming that more than 600 baby food products caused their children to develop autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The decision, handed down in the Northern District of California, stems from allegations that several leading baby food manufacturers and retailers failed to prevent or address harmful levels of toxic metals — including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and mercury — in their products.
Judge Corley ruled that it is plausible to argue some baby food was unsafe due to manufacturers either ignoring internal safety limits or failing to address heavy metal contamination entirely. She added that there is no strict legal requirement for parents to demonstrate that toxicity exceeded a specific threshold to make a valid claim.
Major Brands Named in the Lawsuit
Brands implicated in the multidistrict litigation include:
- Beech-Nut (owned by Nestlé)
- Gerber (owned by Switzerland’s Hero Group)
- Earth’s Best Organics (Hain Celestial)
- Happy Baby / Happy Tot (Danone)
- Plum Organics (Sun-Maid Growers of California, previously owned by Campbell Soup Co.)
- Sprout Organic (Neptune Wellness Solutions)
- Walmart, which sold baby food under its own brand
Retail giants Amazon and its Whole Foods Market subsidiary are also facing related lawsuits for selling products made by Hain and Danone.
Industry Response and Legal Developments
The defendant companies maintain their baby foods are safe and argue that heavy metals occur naturally in the environment. They claimed that merely detecting trace amounts doesn’t make their products defective. Lawyers for the companies have not yet commented on the ruling.
R. Brent Wisner, an attorney representing the plaintiffs, welcomed the court’s decision. “Selling baby food with lead and arsenic is simply not OK, and with the court’s ruling, we are one step closer to holding these companies accountable for their decades of malfeasance,” he said.
Campbell Soup Co. has been dismissed from the case, having sold Plum Organics to Sun-Maid in 2021.
The lawsuits followed a 2021 report from a U.S. House subcommittee that highlighted “dangerous” levels of heavy metals in some commercial baby foods, warning of the potential for long-term neurological harm.
Case reference: In re: Baby Food Products Liability Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 24-md-03101.
