Several Companies Must Face Lawsuit Over Tainted Baby Food + More
Source: Children’s Health Defense
Several Companies Must Face Lawsuit Over Tainted Baby Food
A U.S. judge said several companies including Walmart, Beech-Nut and Gerber must face a nationwide lawsuit claiming that toxic heavy metals contaminated their baby food, causing brain and neurodevelopmental damage to children who ate it.
In a decision on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Jacqueline Scott Corley said parents can try to prove that defective manufacturing, negligence and failure to warn about more than 600 baby food products caused their children to suffer autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Parents said some defendants failed to adhere to internal limits about how much arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury in baby food was safe, while others never addressed the issue.
Analysis Raises Concerns About Potential Misuse of Atrazine Weedkiller in US Midwest
Corn growers across Midwestern states appear to be flouting regulations aimed at protecting important waterways from contamination with toxic atrazine weedkiller, according to an analysis of satellite imagery and field data that comes as U.S. regulators ponder changes to rules for use of the pesticide.
The analysis, which was conducted by an agricultural industry consultant in Illinois and shared with The New Lede, found what could potentially be thousands of violations by farmers in Illinois and neighboring states. The analysis honed in on geographic points where farm fields planted by corn growers are seen closely abutting waterways, and assumes that farmers sprayed their crops with atrazine, a common practice in the U.S. Midwest.
Though it could not be determined if atrazine was used on the fields, the chemical is applied to the majority of corn acres in the state, and the satellite images show clear pathways for the flow of farm chemicals off the fields and into waters. Critics say the information exposes critical problems with current regulation of atrazine, which is known to pose an array of health risks to humans and animals and is considered a dangerous water contaminant.
Federal Government Pulls Local Food Assistance Program
Aaron Pape of Peshtigo said Pape Family Pastures has lost a federal customer that helped him grow his pastured protein business. While the federally funded Local Farm Purchase Assistance program allowed Pape’s business to get to a better place, those it served might not be as fortunate.
The program, offered through the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), supports local communities by paying farmers to produce food for pantries, child care centers and schools. The program supported local farms, like Pape Family Pastures, which increased its chicken production by about 50% because of it. “It helped us increase our ability to produce chickens on a larger scale,” said Pape, who operates the 200-acre farm in Grover Township with his wife.
With federally funded farm-to-fork programs for schools, child care centers and food pantries being canceled, an estimated $7 million in USDA reimbursements are being pulled from Wisconsin’s economy, experts said.
US Egg Imports Meant to Drive Prices Down Could Be Hit by Tariffs
European Supermarket Magazine reported:
U.S. President Donald Trump’s new tariffs could apply to eggs being imported to ease a supply shortage, Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said, a move that industry experts said could boost prices just as they have started to decline from record highs. Rollins said in a Fox Business interview that tariffs on egg imports were possible and negotiations with affected countries were ongoing.
On Wednesday, Trump announced sweeping tariffs that have been mostly criticised by agricultural and food groups for their potential to shrink markets for farmers and raise consumer prices.
The U.S. has increased imports of eggs from Türkiye, Brazil and South Korea in an attempt to increase supplies amid an ongoing bird flu outbreak that has killed nearly 170 million chickens, turkeys and other birds since 2022.
Popular Brands of Liquid Eggs Are Recalled Over Bleach Contamination Concerns
Breakfast eaters beware: Thousands of pounds of liquid egg substitutes from two popular brands have been recalled over contamination concerns. The Michigan-based company Cargill Kitchen Solutions is recalling some 212,268 pounds of products under the Egg Beaters and Bob Evans labels because they may contain a cleaning solution, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service announced last week.
It said the four kinds of liquid egg products were shipped for distribution in Ohio and Texas and for food service use in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Iowa — though that may not be an exhaustive list.
“There is a possibility that the products were distributed nationwide,” it added.
Cargill spokesperson Kristen Saunders told NPR on Friday that the company had no updates about the scope of the distribution. Cargill said in a statement that the products “do not pose a health concern if consumed” and had been recalled “out of an abundance of caution.”
