On February 4, 2021, a House Subcommittee released a report entitled, “Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.” Walmart, Inc., among other baby food makers, had been asked to participate in testing of its Parent’s Choice products in connection with the investigation, but it had refused. The complaint quotes the Subcommittee as saying, “Walmart’s evasion is concerning, as even limited independent testing [of Walmart products] has revealed the presence of toxic heavy metals in its baby food.”
The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons in the US and its territories who, during any applicable limitations period through the present, bought Parent’s Choice baby foods, for household or business use, and not for resale. Subclasses have also been defined for Florida, Indiana, Georgia, Massachusetts, New York, Arkansas, Missouri, and Pennsylvania.
A limited list of baby food products is on pages 5-6 of the complaint.
The complaint alleges it’s bringing suit against Walmart “for its negligent, reckless and/or intentional practice of misrepresenting and failing to fully disclose the heavy metals, toxins, or other ingredients that do not conform to the labels, packaging, or advertising or, or statements concerning, Defendant Walmart’s baby food products sold throughout the United States…”
Walmart’s website makes claims for its Parent’s Choice baby food: “With a trust and safety guarantee to make shopping for baby easy, Parent’s Choice takes care of everything little ones need at an every[]day low price.” It also uses words such as “organic,” “natural,” “great for you,” and “GMO free” and uses the USDA organic seal, the complaint alleges, “to emphasize the foods’ suitability for consumption by young children and infants.”
In October 2019, an organization called Happy Babies Bright Futures (HBBF) published an earlier report after testing 168 baby foods. According to the complaint, it concluded that “[n]inety-five percent of baby foods tested were contaminated with one or more of four toxic heavy metals—arsenic, lead, cadmium and mercury. All but nine of 168 baby foods contained at least one metal; most contained more than one.”
The complaint alleges that the HBBF report showed that Walmart’s Parent’s Choice products “contain dangerous levels of toxic heavy metals.”
The complaint says, “Given that this limited testing has revealed that both of [Walmart’s] baby foods that were tested contain toxic heavy metals in dangerously high amounts, and given [Walmart’s] refusal to cooperate with the Subcommittee’s investigation, there is a great likelihood that additional comprehensive testing will show that other Parent’s Choice baby foods also contain high levels of toxic heavy metals.”
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Parent’s Choice Baby Foods Contain Heavy Metals Class Action
June 23, 2021
On February 4, 2021, a House Subcommittee released a report entitled, “Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.” Walmart, Inc., among other baby food makers, had been asked to participate in testing of its Parent’s Choice products in connection with the investigation, but it had refused. The complaint quotes the Subcommittee as saying, “Walmart’s evasion is concerning, as even limited independent testing [of Walmart products] has revealed the presence of toxic heavy metals in its baby food.”
Parent’s Choice Baby Foods Contain Heavy Metals Class ActionCase Event History
Parent’s Choice Baby Foods Contain Heavy Metals Class Action
June 23, 2021
On February 4, 2021, a House Subcommittee released a report entitled, “Baby Foods Are Tainted with Dangerous Levels of Arsenic, Lead, Cadmium, and Mercury.” Walmart, Inc., among other baby food makers, had been asked to participate in testing of its Parent’s Choice products in connection with the investigation, but it had refused. The complaint quotes the Subcommittee as saying, “Walmart’s evasion is concerning, as even limited independent testing [of Walmart products] has revealed the presence of toxic heavy metals in its baby food.”
Parent’s Choice Baby Foods Contain Heavy Metals Class Action