Testing Results for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium and Mercury

What's New 

On April 29, 2026, the FDA issued results from the agency’s increased testing of infant formula to understand the presence of certain contaminants. This testing was conducted as part of Operation Stork Speed, FDA’s Closer to Zero initiative, and FDA’s routine food surveillance work to help ensure safe, reliable, and nutritious infant formula for families across the U.S. 

The FDA tests food for arsenic, lead, cadmium, and mercury to monitor the safety of the U.S. food supply, enforce FDA regulations, and inform agency guidance to industry and advice to consumers. Testing may be targeted to a specific category of food, such as foods commonly eaten by children under 2 years of age, or to a specific food or food group. Testing may also be conducted in response to reports of elevated contaminant levels in certain foods. Testing may occur at the FDA laboratories, laboratories we contract with, or at state laboratories as part of our cooperative agreement with states.

Data on lead in the tables below helped to inform the FDA’s action levels for lead in foods intended for babies and young children. Data on arsenic, cadmium, and mercury will help inform the development of action levels.

• Analytical Results for Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury in Food Intended for Babies and Young Children- TEP (FY2009-FY2024) in PDF, in XLSX
  Sampled under the FDA’s Toxic Elements in Food and Foodware, and Radionuclides in Food – Import and Domestic Compliance Program
  Posted March 2023, Updated January 2025
• Analytical Results for Lead in Processed Food Intended for Babies and Young Children (FY2023) in PDF, in XLSX
  Sampled as part of an FDA survey of toxic elements in foods intended for babies and young children
  Posted January 2025
• Dataset for Lead and Cadmium in Infant Foods (FY2013-FY2014) in XLSX
  Sampled as part of an FDA survey of toxic elements in foods commonly consumed by babies and young children
  Posted October 2017

Carrageenan is used in very low levels in food as an emulsifier, stabilizer, and thickener. It is derived from seaweeds, which like other natural sources, may contain arsenic, lead, or cadmium. The test results from this limited sample were well below the specification levels for arsenic, cadmium, and lead established by the Food Chemicals Codex, 13th edition, and by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, and adopted by the Codex Alimentarius.

• Dataset for Arsenic, Lead and Cadmium in Carrageenan (FY2014) in XLSX
  Sampled as part of an FDA survey of toxic elements in foods commonly consumed by babies and young children, Posted October 2017

Additional testing results are available in FDA scientific articles and reports, available on the lead, arsenic, and mercury, Total Diet Study, and FDA’s Infant Formula Product Testing Results pages.