(Bloomberg) — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is taking on baby formula products, the latest in his sweeping review of ingredients used in the US food supply.
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Under Kennedy, the US Food and Drug Administration will begin a comprehensive examination of the nutrients used in infant formula and increase testing for heavy metals and other contaminants, HHS said in a statement Tuesday. The announcement comes as Kennedy met with executives of companies that make infant formula, Bloomberg first reported.
Kennedy held a discussion with the chief executives from Abbott Laboratories, which makes Similac, Enfamil maker Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, Perrigo Co. and Bobbie Baby Inc., according to a social media post from HHS.
“We look forward to working with the Secretary, the FDA, and the scientific and medical communities to continue to make infant formulas even closer to breastmilk and support the aims of Operation Stork Speed,” Abbott spokesman Scott Stoffel said in an email. “Each ingredient in our formulas is purposefully chosen for the type of baby we’re feeding and their unique dietary needs.”
Abbott shares fell 1.1% at 3:42 p.m. in New York after paring earlier losses. Reckitt, whose Mead Johnson unit makes formula, lost 1% in London.
Contamination Concerns
Kennedy previously voiced concerns about the presence of heavy metals in formula products, including in a social media post in May 2024. During his presidential campaign, he said that if he were to be elected, the FDA, a part of HHS that he now oversees, would examine formula ingredients.
The announcement Tuesday comes as formula manufacturers are facing increased scrutiny over ingredients and potential contaminants in their products. Popular infant formula brands made by Abbott and Reckitt’s Mead Johnson unit, among others, were found to contain potentially concerning levels of heavy metals, according to new findings released Tuesday after the HHS statement.
The study, from nonprofit group Consumer Reports, revealed Abbott’s EleCare Hypoallergenic and Similac Alimentum products had the highest levels of inorganic arsenic among the 41 powdered formulas tested. Reckitt’s Enfamil Nutramigen had, in some cases, twice the amount of lead as other products tested.
“To get to zero exposure would be very, very tough because all these things are found in soy and rice and lipids — all the materials that make up protein,” said Josef Neu, a professor of pediatrics and neonatology at the University of Florida’s College of Medicine. “That being said, I’m always concerned about any kind of toxins that we might be feeding the baby if it’s breast milk, donor milk, formula. I think that the companies should really be looking at this.”
