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F.D.A. Releases Results from Major Infant Formula Safety Study

When the Food and Drug Administration announced “Operation Stork Speed” in March 2025, it... It’s reassuring that the heavy metal and pesticide levels were low, experts said. And it’s...

NYTIMES 입력 2026.04.29 21:58 0

F.D.A. Releases Results from Major Infant Formula Safety Study

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F.D.A. Releases Results from Major Infant Formula Safety Study

The agency said the analysis of more than 300 formula samples was reassuring, but outside experts raised some concerns.

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Kayana Szymczak for The New York Times

Alice Callahan

April 29, 2026,

8:57 a.m. ET

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When the Food and Drug Administration announced “

Operation Stork Speed

” in March 2025, it vowed to improve the safety and quality of U.S. infant formulas — in part by increasing its testing of them for heavy metals, pesticides and other contaminants.

Now, the first round of test results are in, and while federal health officials are describing them as reassuring, some outside experts say they raise questions.

Between 2023 and 2025, the agency purchased more than 300 infant formula samples from stores and online retailers and tested them for heavy metals (lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury), pesticides, phthalates (chemicals commonly found in plastics) and PFAS (or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, sometimes called “

forever chemicals

”).

The agency reported that the levels of all contaminants were low, and the formulas were safe. But after looking at the raw data, a few outside experts noted that some phthalate and PFAS levels were concerning.

“Any detection of PFAS or phthalates is problematic” and deserves scrutiny, especially in products that babies consume, said Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington.

It’s reassuring that the heavy metal and pesticide levels were low, experts said. And it’s good that the agency is evaluating these contaminants, Dr. Sathyanarayana said. But, she added, the findings highlight the need for continued monitoring and work to reduce levels of them in formula.

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