According to an investigation by Friends of the Earth, an independent lab found 21 different pesticides in baby food sold at Target.

“Lab results found pesticides in 100% of Target-brand baby food tested. @Target MUST address this threat to children’s health and phase toxic pesticides out of its supply chain,” the group stated.

Per Friends of the Earth:

We suspected that Target’s food supply chain — like other major food retailers — was heavily contaminated with toxic pesticides. So we put our suspicions to the test by investigating baby food made by Target’s house brand Good & Gather. We purchased samples of non-organic Good & Gather Baby Apple Fruit Puree and Good & Gather Baby Pear Fruit Puree from Target stores in San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Minneapolis, and online. Then we sent them to an independent lab for testing.

We found a cocktail of 21 different pesticides — a term that includes insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides — in Target’s baby food, including neonicotinoids. We also found metabolites from a class of neurotoxic pesticides called organophosphates. Twelve of the pesticides we found are classified as highly hazardous to the environment and/or human health and eight are banned in the European Union.

“Lab tests of two items from Good & Gather — the non-organic apple and the pear fruit purees for babies — revealed the presence of 21 pesticides, including 12 classified as highly hazardous to human health or the environment,” Children’s Health Defense wrote.

The Defender reports:

Neonicotinoid pesticides were present in 100% of the baby food samples tested. These chemicals have been linked to birth defects of the heart and brain, learning disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, damage to the nervous system and hormone disruption.

Neonicotinoids are also among the most ecologically disastrous pesticides since DDT.

U.S. agriculture has become nearly 48 times more toxic to insects, including essential pollinators like bees, since the introduction of neonicotinoids. And they are a critical factor driving over 200 endangered species toward extinction, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Organophosphate pesticide metabolites (meaning the breakdown products of pesticides) were also found in 100% of the baby food samples. Scientists have called for a complete ban on organophosphates, as they are known to be highly toxic to children’s developing brains, even at low levels of exposure.

They are associated with reduced IQ, attention disorders, delayed motor development and learning disabilities. They have also been shown to harm bees, birds and aquatic organisms like fish.

In addition, 10 of the pesticides found in Target’s baby food are linked to endocrine disruption. Incredibly small amounts of endocrine-disrupting chemicals — the equivalent to one drop in 20 Olympic swimming pools — can alter brain development, hormones, immune systems and more.

“The pesticides in Target’s baby food were detected at levels below the limits set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). However, the standards set by the EPA are outdated, influenced by the powerful pesticide industry, and fail to account for the best and most recent science. Because the agency doesn’t follow the latest science, the EPA has failed to ban dozens of toxic pesticides that are outlawed in the European Union. Many scientists believe that the EPA’s standards are insufficient to protect people from the harmful impacts of pesticides in our diets,” Friends of the Earth wrote.

Read the full results HERE.

 

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